Worldwide rotaviruses A (RVA) are responsible for approximately 215,000 deaths annually among children aged less than 5 years. RVA G1P [8] remains to be associated with >50% of gastroenteritis in this age group. The aim of this study was to assess the genetic variability of G1P [8] strains detected in children with severe diarrhea in Belém, Pará, Brazil, during the postrotavirus vaccine introduction era. The phylogenetic analysis of the proteins VP4 and VP7 allowed to group 40 samples selected from 2009 to 2011 into lineages found to be different from the vaccine strains. As based on genomic constellations determined for these strains we identified reassortments between the genogroups Wa-like and DS-1-like (G1-P[8]-I1-R2-C1-M1-A1-N1-T2-E1-H1) and Wa-like and AU-1-like (G1-P[8]-I1-R3-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1). The antigenic epitopes present in the VP7 and VP4 amino acid residues denote differences and changes in electrostatic charges distribution, as compared to similar residues from Rotarix ® . These findings reflect the first structural analyses of the antigenic regions of VP7 and VP4 of the RVA G1P[8] in children with gastroenteritis in Northern Brazil raising the hypothesis that structural modifications over time at these sites may account for the emergence of new strains that could possibly pose a challenge to current vaccination strategies.

The state of Pará has recorded seven Leishmania species that cause tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL). Leishmania species induce distinct immunological responses from the host and exhibit resistance to Glucantime, the first-line drug treatment for TL in Brazil. Objective: Identify the etiology of TL in an Amazonian city in the state of Pará. Material and methods: Eleven patients with TL were recruited and nasal swabs, lesion swabs, and skin fragments samples were collected. In the control group (n = 6), only the nasal swabs were collected. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of the gene region hsp70-234 was performed using the extracted DNA from the samples, from which nine patients with TL and five in the control group were positive. Products were sequenced, mounted in CAP3 software, aligned using MAFFT v.7.221, edited in Geneious software v.8.1.7, and compared and aligned with sequences available in GenBank using the BLAST tool. Results: For patients with TL, six molecular diagnosis at the species level (L. (Viannia) braziliensis (n = 5/9), L. (Viannia) shawi (n = 1/9)) and three at the genus level (Leishmania sp. (n = 3/9)) were obtained. In the control group, four individuals were infected with Leishmania sp. (n = 4/5) and L. (V.) shawi (n = 1/5). Conclusion: This is the first report of L. (V.) shawi infection in the mucosal secretion of a healthy person in Brazil. Moreover, genetic variants were identified in the haplotypes of L. (V.) braziliensis in the gene sequence hsp70-234.