IMPORTANCE: The emergency of COVID-19 requires the implementation of urgent strategies to prevent the spread of the disease, mainly in health personnel, who are the most exposed and has the highest risk of becoming infected with the SARS-COV-2. Drug repurposing is a pragmatic strategy, a faster and cheaper option, compared to the new drug development that has proven successful for many drugs and can be a key tool in emergency situations such as the current one that requires quick action. In addition, considering the limited access to vaccines for developing countries, preventive use of ivermectin can be a palliative that minimizes the risks of infection. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective effect of the combination Ivermectin / Iota- Carrageenan (IVER/IOTACRC), intensive treatment with repeated administration in oral- and nasal-spray, respectively, as a prophylaxis treatment prior to exposure to SARS-CoV-2, in health personnel at Public Healthcare Centers. PARTICIPANTS, DESIGN AND SETTING: Randomized controlled 1-1 clinical trial in Personal Health, n = 234. The subjects were divided into experimental (EG: n=117; 39.6 ± 9.4 years old, 65F) and control groups (CG: n=117; 38.4 ± 7.4 years old, 61F). The EG received Ivermectin orally 2 tablets of 6 mg = 12 mg every 7 days, and Iota-Carrageenan 6 sprays per day for 4 weeks. All participants were evaluated by physical examination COVID-19 diagnosed with negative RT-PCR at the beginning, final, and follow-up of the protocol. Differences between the variables were determined using the Chi-square test. The proportion test almost contagious subject and the contagion risk (Odds Ratio) were calculated using software STATA. The level of statistical significance was reached when p-Value < 0.05. RESULT: The number of subjects who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in EG was lower, only 4 of 117 (3.4%) than subjects in CG: 25 of 117 (21.4%) (P-Value = 1.10-5). Nineteen patients had mild symptoms, 4 were in EG whereas, 15 were in CG (p-Value = 0.001). Seven subjects were moderate, and 3 with severe diagnostics, all them in CG. The probability (Odds Ratio) of becoming ill with COVID-19 was significantly lower in EG with values of 0.13, 95% 0.03 to 0.40; p-Value = 1.10-4, this value (<1) indicates a protective effect of the IVER/IOTACRC in the EG. Logistic regression test demonstrated that treatment was effective to prevent COVID-19 (Odds Ratio 0.11, 95% 0.03 to 0.33; p-Value = 1.10-4). We also found that when increase the age, decrease contagious risk (Odds Ratio 0, 93, 95% 0.88 to 0.98, p-Value= 0, 02). On the other hand, the probability of contracting COVID-19 was dependent on the patient's preexisting comorbidity (Odds Ratio 5.58, 95% 2.20 to 14.16, p-Value = 1.10-5). The other variables sex and designation were independent. CONCLUSION: The intensive preventive treatment (short-term) with IVER/IOTACRC was able to reduce the number of health workers infected with COVID-19. This treatment had also effect in preventing the severity of the disease, since all patients treated were mild. We propose a new therapeutic alternative for prevention and short-term intervention scheme (intensive) that is of benefit of the health worker in this pandemic accelerated time. This intervention did not produce lack of adherence to treatment or adverse effects.
Myiasis is usually caused by flies of the Calliphoridae family, and Cochliomyia hominivorax is the etiological agent most frequently found in myiasis. The first case of myiasis in a diabetic foot of a 54-year-old male patient in Argentina is reported. The patient attended the hospital of the capital city of Tucumán Province for a consultation concerning an ulcer in his right foot, where the larval specimens were found. The identification of the immature larvae was based on their morphological characters, such as the cylindrical, segmented, white yellow-coloured body and tracheas with strong pigmentation. The larvae were removed, and the patient was treated with antibiotics. The larvae were reared until the adults were obtained. The adults were identified by the setose basal vein in the upper surface of the wing, denuded lower surface of the wing, short and reduced palps, and parafrontalia with black hairs outside the front row of setae. The main factor that favoured the development of myiasis is due to diabetes, which caused a loss of sensibility in the limb that resulted in late consultation. Moreover, the poor personal hygiene attracted the flies, and the foul-smelling discharge from the wound favoured the female's oviposition. There is a need to implement a program for prevention of myiasis, in which the population is made aware not only of the importance of good personal hygiene and home sanitation but also of the degree of implication of flies in the occurrence and development of this disease.
A case of co-infection with Plasmodium vivax and Mansonella ozzardi was detected in a blood sample from a person who had shown symptoms of malaria and lived in a city that was close to the Argentina/Bolivia border. The case was detected during a random revision of thick and thin smears from patients diagnosed with malaria from various towns and cities located in north-western Argentina between 1983 and 2001. Trophozoites of P. vivax were observed in the thin blood smear along with M. ozzardi microfilaria (larval form), which presented a long, slender, pointed anucleate tail and the absence of the sheath. This last characteristic is shared with Mansonella perstans, Mansonella streptocerca and Onchocerca volvulus. More rigorously controlled studies to detect other co-infection cases in the area as well as the possibility of importation from Bolivia into Argentina are currently ongoing. The relationship between the malaria parasite and microfilaria, the potential effect of malaria treatment on the development of M. ozzardi, and the possible impact of this microfilaria on the immunity of a person against P. vivax are all still unknown. This contribution constitutes a point of focus for future studies involving the interaction between the parasites and the potential risk that humans are exposed to.
With the purpose of promoting nomenclatural stability, this paper addresses a number of errors, omissions, and controversial conclusions in a recent revision of the green lacewing genus Ceraeochrysa by Freitas et al. (2009 (Banks) and Cer. intacta (Navás) (as Cer. chiricahuae Freitas and Penny) in the genus Ceraeochrysa; female and larval features of the two species differ markedly from those used to characterize Ceraeochrysa species. As an alternative that recognizes the uncertainty surrounding the generic placement of these species and that avoids additional, unnecessary name changes, we propose including the caveat "genus incertae sedis" with the names, as follows: Ceraeochrysa placita (Banks), genus incertae sedis, and Ceraeochrysa intacta (Navás), genus incertae sedis.
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