Introduction:The aim of this study is to report our clinical experience in the management of pregnant women infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the first 30 days of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Background: The first reports of the Chinese experience in the management of newborns of mothers with SARS-CoV 2 infection did not recommend mother-baby contact or breastfeeding. At present, the most important International Societies, such as WHO and UNICEF, promote breastfeeding and mother-baby contact as long as adequate measures to control COVID-19 infection are followed. In cases where maternal general health conditions impede direct breastfeeding or in cases of separation between mother and baby, health organizations encourage and support expressing milk and safely providing it to the infants. Methods: A series of 22 case studies of newborns to mothers with COVID-19 infection from March 14th to April 14th, 2020 was conducted. Mothers and newborns were followed for a median period of 1.8 consecutive months. Results: Out of 22 mothers, 20 (90.9%) chose to breastfeed their babies during hospital admission. Timely initiation and skin to skin contact at delivery room was performed in 54.5 and 59.1%, respectively. Eighty two percent of newborns to mothers with COVID-19 were fed with breast milk after 1 month, decreasing to 77% at 1.8 months. Six of 22 (37.5%) mothers with COVID-19 required transitory complementary feeding until exclusive breastfeeding was achieved. During follow-up period, there were no major complications, and no neonates were infected during breastfeeding. Conclusions: Our experience shows that breastfeeding in newborns of mothers with COVID-19 is safe with the adequate infection control measures to avoid mother-baby contagion. Supplementing feeding with pasteurized donor human milk or infant formula may be effective, until exclusive breastfeeding is achieved.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic zoonotic disease widely distributed worldwide and is caused by the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The definitive host of T. gondii is the domestic cat and the entire cat family, in which the sexual stages of the parasite develop. T. gondii can also infect a wide range of intermediate hosts, affecting most warm-blooded animals including humans. In humans, toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic in healthy individuals, but can develop lymphadenopathy and nonspecific symptomatology or even be fatal in infants with congenital toxoplasmosis and in immunocompromised patients. Transmission to humans is mainly through food, especially by eating undercooked meat or meat contaminated with tissue cysts. This has led to various public health organizations worldwide monitoring programs on T. gondii in animals intended for human consumption, especially in meat samples. One of the techniques employed in the laboratory is that based on the polymerase chain reaction and some of its variants, which have proven to be valuable tools for the detection of T. gondii in tissues for human consumption and many other types of biological samples. The development of different strategies for the molecular detection of T. gondii has led to the identification and quantification methodologies varying widely among laboratories. Therefore, this chapter reviews the main methods of extraction, purification, detection and quantification of T. gondii DNA in tissue samples from different species destined for human consumption.

La Proteína C Reactiva (PCR) es una de las proteínas plasmáticas que aparecen en la fase aguda de la inflamación. La periodontitis se relaciona con niveles elevados de PCR en adultos y con una reducción de la misma después de su tratamiento. La diabetes, por otro lado, es una enfermedad que compromete la respuesta tanto inflamatoria como reparativa del organismo y los tejidos periodontales son particularmente sensibles a su efecto. La PCR por lo tanto, puede ser útil en el diagnóstico y en la determinación de progresión de la enfermedad periodontal (EP). El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar los niveles de PCR en pacientes con EP y pacientes con EP y diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2). Se incluyeron 60 sujetos distribuidos en 3 grupos: 15 pacientes con EP (Grupo 1), 15 pacientes con EP y DM2 (grupo 2) y 30 pacientes sistémicamente sanos (grupo 3). A cada uno de los participantes se les realizaron pruebas bioquímicas: Proteína C Reactiva (NycoCard® PCR), HbA1c (NycoCard®) y glucosa en sangre. Para el diagnóstico de la enfermedad periodontal se siguieron los parámetros del 5° Taller Europeo de Periodontología. Para evaluar las diferencias entre los grupos se usó la prueba de Kruskal Wallis. Se encontraron diferencias estadísticas significativas al comparar la concentración de PCR en los 3 grupos (p<0.01), siendo el grupo de pacientes sanos el que presentaba el menor promedio (4.88±0.08) y los mayores promedios para los grupos de EP (5.95±2.23) y EP/DM2 (5.21±0.20). Además se encontraron diferencias significativas (p<0.01) en los tres grupos con respecto a la concentración hemoglobina, talla, IMC y PI. Los resultados indican que los niveles séricos de PCR se elevan en pacientes con EP y en pacientes con EP y DM2. Aunque se notó esta diferencia, existen diversos factores tanto locales como sistémicos que pueden potencialmente influir en los niveles de PCR y estos representan una limitación y dificultad al momento de interpretar las pruebas.