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Extracts of 32 medicinal plants commonly used in Mexico were evaluated for their effects on the growth of Vibrio cholerae strains O1 and O139. Of these, the ethanolic extracts of Acacia farnesiana and Artemisia ludoviciana effectively inhibited bacterial growth. The effects of these plant extracts on enterotoxin production and adhesion of V. cholerae to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were determined. The minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) for growth was 4.0-7.0 mg/ml for A. farnesiana and 4.0-6.0 mg/ml in A. ludoviciana spp. mexicana. Cholera toxin was inhibited when lower concentrations (50% or 75% of the MBC) of extracts were added to the media. Preexposing bacteria or CHO cells to various concentrations of extracts affected in a different manner the adhesion between bacteria and CHO cells.

The NSP4 protein is a multifunctional protein that plays a role in the morphogenesis and pathogenesis of the rotavirus. Although NSP4 is considered an enterotoxin, the relationship between gastroenteritis severity and amino acid variations in NSP4 of the human rotavirus remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed the sequence diversity of NSP4 and the severity of gastroenteritis of children with moderate to severe gastroenteritis. The rotavirus-infected children were hospitalized before the rotavirus vaccine program in Mexico. All children had diarrhea within 1−4 days, 44 (88%) were vomiting and 35 (70%) had fevers. The severity analysis showed that 13 (26%) cases had mild gastroenteritis, 23 (46%) moderate gastroenteritis and 14 (28%) severe. NSP4 phylogenetic analysis showed three clusters within the genotype E1. Sequence analysis revealed similar mutations inside each cluster, and an uncommon variation in residue 144 was found in five of the Mexican NSP4 sequences. Most of the amino acid variations were located in the VP4 and VP6 binding site domains, with no relationship to different grades of gastroenteritis. This finding indicates that severe gastroenteritis caused by the rotavirus appears to be related to diverse viral or cellular factors instead of NSP4 activity as a unique pathogenic factor.

RESUMENLa zona costera del mar interior de la Décima Región, incluyendo principalmente el Seno de Reloncaví, es un área que desde que se instalaron los primeros habitantes en sus alrededores ha sido impactada por aguas residuales domésticas e industriales, así como también por la actividad agrícola, forestal y acuícola en los últimos 10 años. La zona costera de la bahía de Puerto Montt ha sido poco estudiada, sobre todo cuando se intenta evaluar el estado actual de las condiciones ambientales y más aún cuando se pretende conocer los posibles impactos que se estén generando con posterioridad a la instalación del emisario submarino de aguas servidas. El presente estudio pretende obtener un diagnóstico del estado de contaminación bacteriológica de la bahía de Puerto Montt, a través del índice de coliformes fecales. Se fijaron 5 estaciones de muestreo en la costa y 6 en aguas más profundas de la bahía, paralelas a la costa. Las muestras de la costa se tomaron en forma mensual y las de aguas profundas de la bahía, en forma estacional. Para el análisis bacteriológico de las muestras de agua se usó el método de los tubos múltiples (NMP), método cuantitativo que permite estimar la población de bacterias coliformes fecales presentes en el agua, inoculando series de 5 tubos en diluciones decrecientes de la muestra a medios de cultivos adecuados. Para el estudio de la información se aplicó un análisis de varianza paramétrico, el test de tukey y el test t de Student. La contaminación bacteriológica muestra rangos de coliformes fecales estacionales entre <2 y 1700 y mensuales entre 2 y >16000 NMP Cf/100 ml. Finalmente, se puede señalar, que la población de coliformes fecales en la Bahía de Puerto Montt se ha mantenido en relación a reportes anteriores. Sin embargo se considera imprescindible el monitoreo continuado del emisario, así como el estudio detenido de la oceanografía del Seno de Reloncaví, del cual se han realizado algunos registros mediante oceanografía satelital. PALABRAS CLAVES: Coliformes fecales, emisario submarino, contaminación ABSTRACT The coastal area of the interior sea of the Tenth Region, including the Reloncaví Sound, is an area that since the first inhabitants settled down in their surroundings it has been impacted by domestic and industrial wastewater, as well as for agricultural, forestry and fish farming activities in the last 10 years. The coastal area of the bay of Puerto Montt has been little studied, mainly when someone tries to evaluate the current state of the environmental conditions and further more, when pretending to know the possible impacts generated after the installation of a submarine wastewater diffuser. The present study seeks to obtain a diagnosis of the state of bacteriological contamination of the bay of Puerto Montt, by using the faecal coliform index. Five sampling stations in the coast and six in deeper waters of the bay were established, the last six parallel to the first ones. Sampling in the coastal stations was performed monthly and seasonally in deep waters stations of the...

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