Recebido em 30/09/2009 -Aceito em 12/02/2010RESUMO: As doenças parasitárias representam um problema de saúde e estão associadas às precárias condições de saneamento e higiene. Considerando que as crianças representam um grupo de maior susceptibilidade às infecções parasitárias, este estudo identificou a prevalência de enteroparasitoses em escolares de 06 a 14 anos de uma escola pública do município de Araguaína-TO, Brasil, no período de abril a julho de 2008. As análises das amostras de fezes foram realizadas pelo método de Lutz (1919), conjuntamente pela técnica de Faust et al. (1938). Foi demonstrada uma prevalência de 55,3%, com maior percentual sobre o sexo feminino (59,5%). Das amostras positivas, foi encontrada uma correlação da idade com a infecção (p < 0,05), destacando-se Entamoeba coli (28,9%), Endolimax nana (18,4%), Giardia duodenalis (11,8%) e Ascaris lumbricoides (9,2%) como as parasitoses mais frequentes.Palavras chaves: Doenças Parasitárias. Prevenção Primária. Técnicas e Procedimentos de Laboratório.

Tocantins is a state in the cross-section between the Central-West, North and Northeast regions of Brazilian territory; it is a gathering point for travelers and transportation from the whole country. In this study, 9493 genome sequences, including 241 local SARS-CoV-2 samples (collected from 21 December 2020, to 16 December 2021, and sequenced in the MinION platform) were analyzed with the following aims: (i) identify the relative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in the state of Tocantins; (ii) analyze them phylogenetically against global SARS-CoV-2 sequences; and (iii) hypothesize the viral dispersal routes of the two most abundant lineages found in our study using phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches. The performed analysis demonstrated that the majority of the strains sequenced during the period belong to the Gamma P.1.7 (32.4%) lineage, followed by Delta AY.99.2 (27.8%), with the first detection of VOC Omicron. As expected, there was mainly a dispersion of P.1.7 from the state of São Paulo to Tocantins, with evidence of secondary spreads from Tocantins to Goiás, Mato Grosso, Amapá, and Pará. Rio de Janeiro was found to be the source of AY.99.2 and from then, multiple cluster transmission was observed across Brazilian states, especially São Paulo, Paraiba, Federal District, and Tocantins. These data show the importance of trade routes as pathways for the transportation of the virus from Southeast to Northern Brazil.

Brazil currently ranks second in absolute deaths by COVID-19, even though most of its population has completed the vaccination protocol. With the introduction of Omicron in late 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases soared once again in the country. We investigated in this work how lineages BA.1 and BA.2 entered and spread in the country by sequencing 2173 new SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected between October 2021 and April 2022 and analyzing them in addition to more than 18,000 publicly available sequences with phylodynamic methods. We registered that Omicron was present in Brazil as early as 16 November 2021 and by January 2022 was already more than 99% of samples. More importantly, we detected that Omicron has been mostly imported through the state of São Paulo, which in turn dispersed the lineages to other states and regions of Brazil. This knowledge can be used to implement more efficient non-pharmaceutical interventions against the introduction of new SARS-CoV variants focused on surveillance of airports and ground transportation.

The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus of the family Togaviridae transmitted to humans by Aedes spp. mosquitoes. In Brazil, imported cases have been reported since June 2014 through two independent introductions, one caused by Asian Lineage in Oiapoque, Amapá state, North Region, and another caused by East/Central/South African (ECSA) in Feira de Santana, Bahia state, Northeast Region. Moreover, there is still limited information about the genomic epidemiology of the CHIKV from surveillance studies. The Tocantins state, located in Northern Brazil, reported an increase in the number of CHIKV cases at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. Thus, to better understand the dispersion dynamics of this viral pathogen in the state, we generated 27 near-complete CHIKV genome sequences from four cities, obtained from clinical samples. Our results showed that the newly CHIKV genomes from Tocantins belonged to the ECSA lineage. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that Tocantins’ strains formed a single well-supported clade, which appear to be closely related to isolates from the Rio Grande do Norte state (Northeast Brazil) and the Rio de Janeiro state (Southeast Brazil), that experienced an explosive ECSA epidemic between 2016–2019. Mutation analyses showed eleven frequent non-synonymous mutations in the structural and non-structural proteins, indicating the autochthonous transmission of the CHIKV in the state. None of the genomes recovered within the Tocantins samples carry the A226V mutation in the E1 protein associated with increased transmission in A. albopictus. The study presented here highlights the importance of continued genomic surveillance to provide information not only on recording mutations along the viral genome but as a molecular surveillance tool to trace virus spread within the country, to predict events of likely occurrence of new infections, and, as such, contribute to an improved public health service.

Tuberculosis constitutes a serious public health problem because it has multi-resistant forms that require treatment that is both difficult and extensive. There is a need to develop new antimycobacterial compounds, and plants represent a source of therapeutic resources. This study analyzed antimycobacterial action in eight extracts from plants found in the Brazilian Cerrado. The results showed significant inhibitory concentrations in relation to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, especially from the extracts of Apuleia molaris and Ouratea spectabilis, both of which presented reduced cytotoxic effects. Fractionation revealed a hexane fraction of A. molaris with significant and promising activity regarding future in vivo assays.