Correlation between virologic profile and clinical features of patients infected by influenza virus provides important information for epidemiological control and clinical management of future disease outbreaks. Samples from patients in Southern Brazil, from June to December 2009, were examined and the viral load was correlated with epidemiological data. All samples were analyzed by qRT-PCR for detection of the 2009-pandemic Influenza A (H1N1). Relative viral loads were assessed based on the 2(-ΔCT) method and epidemiological data were obtained for each patient, following ethical policies. A total of 933 samples were positive for pH1N1 (2009) influenza; 172 were positive for seasonal influenza A; 13 were undetermined; 1992 samples were negative for influenza A. Combined molecular and epidemiological data were available for 38 seasonal and 198 pandemic samples. The median viral load was higher in pandemic than in seasonal influenza samples; in patients infected with pH1N1 (2009), viral load associated positively with chills, myalgia and rhinorrhea, and negatively with dyspnea, but no association was observed with other symptoms, nor with clinical conditions such as pregnancy, smoking, immunodepression and co-morbidities. Regarding patients infected with seasonal influenza, viral loads did not show statistically significant association with any of the symptoms. This is the first study in Brazil that examines epidemiological and molecular data from the 2009 influenza pandemic. The results may serve as a basis for developing strategies to control human-to-human infection and viral dissemination, and for implementing effective measures and public health policies against future novel disease outbreaks.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable and renewable polymers produced by a wide range of bacterial groups. New microbial bioprospection approaches have become an important way to find new PHA producers and new synthesized polymers. Over the past years, bacteria belonging to actinomycetes group have become known as PHA producers, such as Nocardia and Rhodococcus species, Kineosphaera limosa Liu et al. 2002, and, more recently, Streptomyces species. In this paper, we disclose that there are more actinobacteria PHA producers in addition to the genera cited. Some unusual genera, such as Streptoalloteichus, and some genera frequently present in soil, such as Streptacidiphilus, have been found. Thirty-four isolates were able to accumulate poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and a number of these have traces of poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) when cultivated on glucose or glucose and casein as carbon source. Furthermore, some strains showed traces of medium chain length PHA. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that the PHA accumulation occurs in hyphae and spores.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are natural polyesters stored by a wide range of bacteria as carbon source reserve. Due to its chemical characteristics and biodegradability PHA can be used in chemical, medical and pharmaceutical industry for many human purposes. Over the past years, few Burkholderia species have become known for production of PHA. Aside from that, these bacteria seem to be interesting for discovering new PHA compositions which is important to different industrial applications. In this paper, we introduce two new strains which belong either to Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) or genomovar-type, Burkholderia cepacia SA3J and Burkholderia contaminans I29B, both PHA producers from unrelated carbon sources. The classification was based on 16S rDNA and recA partial sequence genes and cell wall fatty acids composition. These two strains were capable to produce different types of PHA monomers or precursors. Unrelated carbon sources were used for growth and PHA accumulation. The amount of carbon source evaluated, or mixtures of them, was increased with every new experiment until it reaches eighteen carbon sources. As first bioprospection experiments staining methods were used with colony fluorescent dye Nile Red and the cell fluorescent dye Nile Blue A. Gas chromatography analysis coupled to mass spectrometry was used to evaluate the PHA composition on each strain cultivated on different carbon sources. The synthesized polymers were composed by short chain length-PHA (scl-PHA), especially polyhydroxybutyrate, and medium chain length-PHA (mcl-PHA) depending on the carbon source used.

Aims In this paper, we introduce a new Burkholderia contaminans capable of producing a newly characterized polymer. Methods and Results CG‐MS and magnetic nuclear resonance 1H and 13C were used to determine the constitution of polymers produced in glucose, glucose with casein, sucrose and sucrose with casein. Three pairs of primers were used to find the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) synthase class and sequence. The synthesized polymers were composed by short‐chain length PHA (scl‐PHA), especially polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), and medium chain length PHA (mcl‐PHA), especially polyhydroxydodecanoate (PHDd), and their concentration, constitution and molecular weight depend on carbon source used. The bacterium showed only class I synthase which could not explain the mcl‐PHA production. Conclusions Burkholderia contaminans has a class I PHA synthase and produces PHB combined to PHDd when cultivated in sucrose or glucose, and PHDd concentration is affected when casein is used. Significance and Impact of the Study PHA are natural polymers produced by a wide range of bacteria. The presence of PHDd monomers confers to the polymer elastomeric properties. Previously, PHDd was only obtained when bacteria were cultivated in related carbon source. In this work, B. contaminansIPT553 produced PHB with PHDd using simple and low‐cost carbon sources that can make possible the cheaper production of a more flexible biopolymer with crystallinity and elasticity different from the more common PHAs.