Virginia Capó

Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) (Diptera: Culicidae) is considered as vector of emerging arboviruses, such as dengue, chikungunya, zika, and yellow fever virus. Although this mosquito has been described in Guatemala since 1995, there are few reported about this species in the country. The objective of this study was to describe the spatial distribution and breeding site of Ae. albopictus in the Department of Santa Rosa during the year 2024. A cross-sectional study was performed during dry season (November-April) and rainy season (May-October) of the Santa Rosas’ Department. The data analysis was performed with EPIDAT, version 4.2. 67 samples of Ae. albopictus were selected. The presence of the vector was identified in 12 (85.71%) of the 14 municipalities of the department. 31.34% (21/67) of the samples were collected during the dry season and 60.66% (46/67) during the rainy season. Ten deposits tested were positive for Ae. albopictus larvae with predominance of artificial deposits of 61.19% (41/67), among them, tires (34.33%) and cans (16.42%) stand out. Ae. albopictus is described in the rural area of the majority of the municipalities of the Department with a variety of the breeding sites, mainly in the non-useful artificial deposits. A wider amount of studies about Ae. albopictus that provide information about the bionomy of the vector, its relation with viruses and the transmission of diseases are necessary.

Cockroaches serve as mechanical vectors for medically important pathogens, and their presence in hospitals is a common occurrence. This review summarizes the pathogens carried by cockroaches collected in hospitals around the world during the period 2000–2024 and focuses on their antibiotic resistance mechanisms and potential impact on the public health system. The conventional techniques are most used to identify microorganisms and determine antibiotic resistance, but there are few studies that use molecular techniques for bacterial identification and resistance mechanism detection. The species that appear most frequently in the selected articles were Escherichia coli (22 articles) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11 articles). Regarding antibiotic resistance, this review describes 79.0% (34/43) of the studies analyzed. E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria were found to be resistant to antibiotics in 51.2% and 25.6% of articles, respectively. The identification of pathogens carried by cockroaches collected in hospitals suggests a potential risk of these insects in the transmission of healthcare-associated infections, mainly in developing countries, where this issue is most alarming. The collected data suggest that integrated approaches to cockroach control and infestation management should be put in place based on scientific evidence.

Cockroaches serve as mechanical vectors for medically important pathogens, and their presence in hospitals is a common occurrence. Describe the pathogens and their resistance mechanisms carried by cockroaches collected in hospitals in different parts of the world during the period 2000-2023. This will be achieved through a systematic review of the indexed literature. The studies were identified through a search of the Google Scholar search engine and in electronic databases related to health: LILACS, Scielo Regional, and PubMed. The search strategy was conducted in accordance with the principles for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA). The review encompassed 22 studies conducted during the specified period. Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana are referenced in 15 and 13 of the analyzed studies, respectively. A variety of pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, helminths, and rotavirus, were isolated and identified from the external and internal body parts of cockroaches. Bacteria represent the most frequently identified group. The species that appear most frequently in the selected articles are Escherichia coli (11 articles), Staphylococcus aureus (9 articles), Klebsiella pneumoniae (7 articles), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6 articles). E. coli and S. aureus bacteria were found to be resistant to antibiotics in 19% and 12% of articles, respectively. Conventional techniques, including seeding in culture media, Gram staining (GS), conventional biochemical tests (CBT), direct parasitological methods, and disc diffusion, have historically been the primary methods for identifying microorganisms and determining antibiotic susceptibility profiles in bacteria. However, there is a paucity of studies that use molecular tech-niques for bacterial identification and resistance mechanism detection. The identification of pathogens carried by cockroaches collected in hospitals suggests a potential risk of these insects in the transmission of healthcare-associated infections.

Spirometra (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) affects humans and some species of domestic and wild animals which eventually interact with humans. In this article, we report three new cases of Spirometra decipiens (Diesing, 1850) infection observed in two intermediate hosts and one definitive host, in Cuba. Genetic and morphological identification of S. decipiens in two snakes and a domestic dog were carried out by molecular means and routine histological study using hematoxylin–eosin staining, respectively. Taken together, the anatomical location, the host species infected with the specimens and their morphological and genetic features, all the samples were identified as S. decipiens. In each of the three cases, PCR assays using specific primers amplified bands that corresponded to S. decipiens species. To our knowledge, this paper is the first report of S. decipiens in species of Cuban endemic fauna and in the Caribbean islands. These species constitute a real or potential risk of transmission of Spirometra to humans in Cuba.

The results of the genotypic characterization of Pneumocystis jirovecii are described in lung tissue samples from 41 Cubans who died of AIDS with pneumocystosis between 1995 and 2008. Histological sections of the lung preserved as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue were examined. PCR amplification and nucleotide sequencing of the two mitochondrial genes (large and small) of the pathogen allowed verification of a predominance of genotype 3 (85T/248C) of the large mitochondrial gene and genotype 3 (160A/196T) of the small mitochondrial gene over a period of 14 years (1995–2008). These results suggest that the 85T/248C//160A/196T genotype circulates with the highest frequency (81.3%) among AIDS patients in Cuba. Multilocus analysis indicates a limited circulation of pathogen genotypes on the island with the existence of a clonal genotype with an epidemic structure. Furthermore, it appears that circulating strains of P. jirovecii have not developed mutations related to sulfonamide resistance. Taken together, the data in this study revealed important elements about pneumocystosis in Cuban patients dying of AIDS and the usefulness of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples to carry out molecular epidemiology studies of P. jirovecii.