Xylazine and acepromazine are drugs used exclusively in veterinary medicine. Xylazineis used as a sedative, analgesic, and tranquilizer while acepromazine is used as a sedative, pre-anesthetic, and anesthetic adjuvant. In vitrodrug toxicity experimentation is essential to predict possible damage associated with treatment. This study was carried out to evaluate and compare the in vitroeffects of acepromazine and xylazine on cell viability. Equine Dermis cells lines were used to examine different drug concentrations (0.02 mg/mL, 0.01 mg/mL, 0.005 mg/mL and 0.0025 mg/mL). An MTT assay was carried out to reveal cell viability. Both tested drugs reduced the viability of ED cells at 0.02 and 0.01 mg/mL. At 0.005 mg/mL, only acepromazine presented an effect. These results corroborate previous studies with xylazine. On the other hand, this is thefirst report about acepromazine and cell viability. Previous studies suggest that the mechanisms involved in reducing cell viability are apoptosis for xylazine and the activation of the autophagic pathway for acepromazine. Both mechanisms have been seen in other drugs of the same classes. These findings reveal that both acepromazine and xylazine cause concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in vitro. Future experiments could further elucidate the mechanisms by which this effect happens and thus circumvent therisk of potential tissue damage in vivo.

As doenças tropicais negligenciadas (DTNs) compõem um grupo de agravos que incide majoritariamente em populações pobres e de países periféricos. São consideradas "negligenciadas" porque não recebem recursos suficientes de governos e instituições de pesquisa. Este ensaio teórico-reflexivo foi construído a partir da observação de dados epidemiológicos, reflexão crítica e leitura de artigos científicos. O objetivo foi discutir as DTNs e seus impactos sociais, motivados pela constatação do ressurgimento da raiva humana no país, um agravo que não faz parte das doenças negligenciadas prioritárias no Brasil. Em 2018, houve um surto de raiva humana em Melgaço (PA), onde 10 pessoas morreram após exposição ao vírus rábico. A cidade possui o menor IDH do Brasil, 0,418, e 96% da população possui renda inferior a meio salário mínimo. Surtos ocorreram na Amazônia em anos anteriores, além de casos isolados em outras unidades da federação. A OMS mantém a meta de erradicação da raiva humana transmitida por cães até 2030, mas os animais silvestres permanecem representando riscos às populações mais vulneráveis e os recursos ainda são insipientes. Faz-se necessário buscar estratégias abrangentes, que fortaleçam a vigilância epidemiológica, as ações na APS e o trabalho de prevenção e pesquisa sobre estes agravos.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease characterized by acute viral encephalitis. It is almost 100% fatal for infected animals. While cases of human rabies have still been registered in Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul rabies is considered a controlled disease in urban areas. However, the transmission of bovine rabies – which has been largely associated with the Desmodus rotundus bat – is endemic. Additionally, there are estimates that only 10% of rabies cases are reported. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the positivity rates, geographical distribution, and seasonal occurrence of bovine rabies in RS, as well as the sampling practices in rabies surveillance. Using samples submitted for laboratory diagnosis from 2016 to 2019, we conducted a retrospective study of the sample results, positivity rates, and seasonal occurrence of rabies in cattle. Throughout these four years, less than a third of state municipalities sent samples for diagnosis, suggesting that the occurrence of rabies might still be underestimated in non-sampled areas. A higher number of rabies cases were reported in 2019, a year in which the most diagnosed samples and the highest positivity percentages were recorded. However, the case numbers registered between 2016 and 2019 were not significantly different. We found that the summer and autumn months presented statistically different positivity rates. Besides this, we did not find any positive D. rotundus samples, despite the positivity rates for bovine rabies. Active surveillance, especially of bat populations and under-sampled regions, must be strengthened to correctly estimate the impact of rabies.

Rabies is an encephalitis caused by rabies virus, whose transmission occurs upon contact with infected animals' saliva. The diagnosis is usually performed post-mortem through a direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT). If the DFAT results are negative, they must be confirmed with an isolation test, usually the mouse inoculation test (MIT), which implies the suffering and death of the animals, high costs and most importantly, up to 28 days to confirm a negative result. Another issue related to rabies diagnosis is the sample collection and storage, which is critical for the rabies virus' RNA genome.Thus, this study aimed to evaluate (i) reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Rabies Tissue Culture Infection Tests (RTCIT) in comparison to DFAT and MIT and (ii) FTA ® cards as an alternative sample collection and preservation method.Eighty animal samples were evaluated through DFAT, RTCIT and RT-PCR; MIT was performed only in DFAT-negative samples. FTA ® cards were evaluated with a subset of 64