LICIA NATAL FERNANDES
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/49 - Laboratório de Protozoologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina - Líder
LIM/49 - Laboratório de Protozoologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina - Líder
8 resultados
Resultados de Busca
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- A survey of flaviviruses in birds in green areas of Sao Paulo, Brazil(2016) ORICO, Lilian Dias; FERNANDES, Licia Natal; MELO, Marcos Antonio; ZWARG, Ticiana; LEVI, Jose Eduardo; MARRELLI, Mauro ToledoIntroduction: This study aimed to investigate Flavivirus infection in birds captured in green areas of Sao Paulo. Methods: Oropharyngeal swabs, cloacal swabs, and blood samples from 170 birds captured in two green areas in Sao Paulo, Brazil were subjected to real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis of Flavivirus specific NS5 gene fragment. Results: All samples were negative for the presence of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA). Conclusions: Despite the negative results, Flavivirus surveillance must be performed regularly due to favorable ecological conditions for virus circulation and transmission among birds in these areas and their close proximity to humans.
- A Novel Highly Divergent Strain of Cell Fusing Agent Virus (CFAV) in Mosquitoes from the Brazilian Amazon Region(2018) FERNANDES, Licia Natal; COLETTI, Thais de Moura; MONTEIRO, Fred Julio Costa; REGO, Marlisson Octavio da Silva; RIBEIRO, Edcelha Soares D'Athaide; RIBEIRO, Geovani de Oliveira; MARINHO, Robson dos Santos Souza; KOMNINAKIS, Shirley Vasconcelos; WITKIN, Steven S.; DENG, Xutao; DELWART, Eric; SABINO, Ester Cerdeira; LEAL, Elcio; COSTA, Antonio Charlys daClassical insect-specific flaviviruses (cISFs) have been widely detected in different countries in the last decades. Here, we characterize the near full-length genomes of two cISFs detected in mosquitoes collected in the city of Macapa, state of Amapa, Amazon region of Brazil. A total of 105 pools of female mosquitos were analyzed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Comparative genomics and phylogenetic analysis identified three strains of cell fusing agent virus (CFAV) and two of Culex flavivirus (CxFV). All sequences were obtained from pools of Culex sp., except for one sequence of CFAV detected in a pool of Aedes aegypti. Both CxFV strains are phylogenetically related to a strain isolated in 2012 in the Southeast region of Brazil. The CFAV strains are the first of this species to be identified in Brazil and one of them is highly divergent from other strains of CFAV that have been detected worldwide. In conclusion, CFAV and CxFV, circulate in mosquitoes in Brazil. One strain of CFAV is highly divergent from others previously described, suggesting that a novel strain of CFAV is present in this region.
- Assessment of asymptomatic Plasmodium spp. infection by detection of parasite DNA in residents of an extra-Amazonian region of Brazil(2018) ALENCAR, Filomena E. C. de; MALAFRONTE, Rosely dos Santos; CERUTTI JUNIOR, Crispim; FERNANDES, Licia Natal; BUERY, Julyana Cerqueira; FUX, Blima; REZENDE, Helder Ricas; DUARTE, Ana Maria Ribeiro de Castro; MEDEIROS-SOUSA, Antonio Ralph; MIRANDA, Angelica EspinosaBackground: The hypotheses put forward to explain the malaria transmission cycle in extra-Amazonian Brazil, an area of very low malaria incidence, are based on either a zoonotic scenario involving simian malaria, or a scenario in which asymptomatic carriers play an important role. Objectives: To determine the incidence of asymptomatic infection by detecting Plasmodium spp. DNA and its role in residual malaria transmission in a non-Amazonian region of Brazil. Methods: Upon the report of the first malaria case in 2010 in the Atlantic Forest region of the state of Espirito Santo, inhabitants within a 2 km radius were invited to participate in a follow-up study. After providing signed informed consent forms, inhabitants filled out a questionnaire and gave blood samples for PCR, and thick and thin smears. Followup visits were performed every 3 months over a 21 month period, when new samples were collected and information was updated. Results: Ninety-two individuals were initially included for follow-up. At the first collection, all of them were clearly asymptomatic. One individual was positive for Plasmodium vivax, one for Plasmodium malariae and one for both P. vivax and P. malariae, corresponding to a prevalence of 3.4% (2.3% for each species). During follow-up, four new PCR-positive cases (two for each species) were recorded, corresponding to an incidence of 2.5 infections per 100 personyears or 1.25 infections per 100 person-years for each species. A mathematical transmission model was applied, using a low frequency of human carriers and the vector density in the region, and calculated based on previous studies in the same locality whose results were subjected to a linear regression. This analysis suggests that the transmission chain is unlikely to be based solely on human carriers, regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not. Conclusion: The low incidence of cases and the low frequency of asymptomatic malaria carriers investigated make it unlikely that the transmission chain in the region is based solely on human hosts, as cases are isolated one from another by hundreds of kilometers and frequently by long periods of time, reinforcing instead the hypothesis of zoonotic transmission.
- Characterization of insect-specific Culex flavivirus (Flaviviridae) nucleotide sequences in mosquitoes from urban parks in Sao Paulo, Brazil(2022) COLETTI, Thais de Moura; ROMANO, Camila Malta; URBINATTI, Paulo Roberto; TEIXEIRA, Renildo Souza; PEDROSA, Leila Weiss de Almeida; NARDI, Marcello Schiavo; NATAL, Delsio; COSTA, Antonio Charlys da; JESUS, Jaqueline Goes de; CLARO, Ingra Morales; SABINO, Ester Cerdeira; WITKIN, Steven S.; MARRELLI, Mauro Toledo; FERNANDES, Licia NatalBackground: Despite their worldwide occurrence, the distribution and role of insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) remain unclear. Methods: We evaluated the presence of ISFs in mosquitoes collected in Sao Paulo, Brazil, using reverse transcription and semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Some of the positive samples were subjected to nanopore sequencing. Results: Twelve mosquito pools (2.8%) tested positive for flavivirus infection. Nanopore sequencing was successfully performed on six samples. Phylogenetic analysis grouped these sequences into genotype 2 of Culex flavivirus (CxFV). Conclusions: The identification of CxFV genotype 2 at new locations in Sao Paulo highlights the importance of understanding the role of ISFs in mosquito vector competence.
- Aedes aegyptifrom Amazon Basin Harbor High Diversity of Novel Viral Species(2020) RIBEIRO, Geovani de Oliveira; MORAIS, Vanessa S.; MONTEIRO, Fred Julio Costa; RIBEIRO, Edcelha Soares D'Athaide; REGO, Marlisson Octavio da S.; SOUTO, Raimundo Nonato Picanco; VILLANOVA, Fabiola; TAHMASEBI, Roozbeh; HEFFORD, Philip Michael; DENG, Xutao; DELWART, Eric; SABINO, Ester Cerdeira; FERNANDES, Licia Natal; COSTA, Antonio Charlys da; LEAL, ElcioViruses are the most diverse and abundant microorganisms on earth, highly adaptive to a wide range of hosts. Viral diversity within invertebrate hosts has gained notoriety in recent years in public health as several such viruses have been of medical importance.Aedes aegyptiserves as a vector for several viruses that have caused epidemics within the last year throughout Brazil; including Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. This study aimed to identify new viral agents withinAedes aegyptimosquito in a city of the Amazonian region, where it is highly endemic. Metagenomic investigation was performed on 60 mosquito pools and viral RNA sequences present in their microbiota were characterized using genomic and phylogenetic tools. In total, we identified five putative novel virus species related to theSobemovirusgenus,Iflavirusgenus andPermutatetraviridaefamily. These findings indicate a diverse taxonomy of viruses present in the mosquito microbiota of the Amazon, the region with the greatest invertebrate diversity in the world.
- Complexity of malaria transmission dynamics in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest(2021) DUARTE, Ana Maria Ribeiro de Castro; FERNANDES, Licia Natal; SILVA, Fabiana Santos; SICCHI, Igor Lucoves; MUCCI, Luis Filipe; CURADO, Izilda; FERNANDES, Aristides; MEDEIROS-SOUSA, Antonio Ralph; CERETTI-JUNIOR, Walter; MARRELLI, Mauro Toledo; EVANGELISTA, Eduardo; TEIXEIRA, Renildo; SUMMA, Juliana Laurito; NARDI, Marcello Schiavo; GARNICA, Margoth Ramos; LOSS, Ana Carolina; BUERY, Julyana Cerqueira; CERUTT, Crispim; PACHECO, M. Andreina; ESCALANTE, Ananias A.; SALLUM, Maria Anice Mureb; LAPORTA, Gabriel ZorelloPlasmodium malariae and Plasmodium vivax are protozoan parasites that can cause malaria in humans. They are genetically indistinguishable from, respectively, Plasmodium brasilianum and Plasmodium simium, i.e. parasites infecting New World non-human primates in South America. In the tropical rainforests of the Brazilian Atlantic coast, it has long been hypothesized that P. brasilianum and P. simium in platyrrhine primates originated from P. malariae and P. vivax in humans. A recent hypothesis proposed the inclusion of Plasmodium falciparum into the transmission dynamics between humans and non-human primates in the Brazilian Atlantic tropical rainforest. Herein, we assess the occurrence of human malaria in simians and sylvatic anophelines using field-collected samples in the Capivari-Monos Environmental Protection Area from 2015 to 2017. We first tested simian blood and anopheline samples. Two simian (Aloutta) blood samples (18%, n = 11) showed Plasmodium cytb DNA sequences, one for P. vivax and another for P. malariae. From a total of 9,416 anopheline females, we found 17 pools positive for Plasmodium species with a 18S qPCR assay. Only three showed P. cytb DNA sequence, one for P. vivax and the others for rodent malaria species (similar to Plasmodium chabaudi and Plasmodium berghei). Based on these results, we tested 25 rodent liver samples for the presence of Plasmodium and obtained P. falciparum cytb DNA sequence in a rodent (Oligoryzomys sp.) liver. The findings of this study indicate complex malaria transmission dynamics composed by parallel spillover-spillback of human malaria parasites, i.e. P. malariae, P. vivax, and P. falciparum, in the Brazilian Atlantic forest.
- Reassessment of asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium spp. in an endemic area with a very low incidence of malaria in extra-Amazonian Brazil(2017) ALENCAR, Filomena E. C. de; MALAFRONTE, Rosely dos Santos; CERUTTI JR., Crispim; FERNANDES, Licia Natal; BUERY, Julyana Cerqueira; FUX, Blima; REZENDE, Helder Ricas; MIRANDA, Angelica EspinosaBackground: Regions with residual transmission are potential obstacles to the elimination of malaria. It is, therefore, essential to understand the factors associated with the maintenance of endemic malaria in these areas. The objective was to investigate whether the status of asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium spp. DNA is maintained in the long term in an extra-Amazonian region of Brazil with low incidence, residual malaria transmission. Methods: Asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium DNA detected in a survey carried out between 2001 and 2004 were reassessed between 2010 and 2011 using questionnaires, PCR and thick and thin blood smear tests three times at 3-month intervals. Results: Of the 48 carriers detected between 2001 and 2004, 37 were located. Of these, only two had positive PCR results and, as in the first survey, Plasmodium malariae DNA was detected. Conclusion: The findings suggest that untreated dwellers from this extra-Amazonian region, who initially harbour malaria parasites, may become negative without ever developing apparent symptoms of the disease. Although the possibility of re-infection cannot be ruled out, the finding of two individuals harbouring P. malariae, both in the first and in the second survey, may be compatible with a long-term carrier state for this parasite. Since most clinical cases of malaria in the region are a consequence of infection by Plasmodium vivax, the epidemiological impact of such long-term carriage would be limited.
- Detection of Culex flavivirus and Aedes flavivirus nucleotide sequences in mosquitoes from parks in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil(2016) FERNANDES, Licia Natal; PAULA, Marcia Bicudo de; ARAUJO, Alessandra Bergamo; GONCALVES, Elisabeth Fernandes Bertoletti; ROMANO, Camila Malta; NATAL, Delsio; MALAFRONTE, Rosely dos Santos; MARRELLI, Mauro Toledo; LEVI, Jose EduardoThe dengue viruses are widespread in Brazil and are a major public health concern. Other flaviviruses also cause diseases in humans, although on a smaller scale. The city of Sao Paulo is in a highly urbanized area with few green spaces apart from its parks, which are used for recreation and where potential vertebrate hosts and mosquito vectors of pathogenic Flavivirus species can be found. Although this scenario can contribute to the transmission of Flavivirus to humans, little is known about the circulation of members of this genus in these areas. In light of this, the present study sought to identify Flavivirus infection in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) collected in parks in the city of Sao Paulo. Seven parks in different sectors of the city were selected. Monthly mosquito collections were carried out in each park from March 2011 to February 2012 using aspiration and traps (Shannon and CD C-CO2). Nucleic acids were extracted from the mosquitoes collected and used for reverse-transcriptase and real-time polymerase chain reactions with genus-specific primers targeting a 200-nucleotide region in the Flavivirus NS5 gene. Positive samples were sequenced, and phylogenetic analyses were performed. Culex and Aedes were the most frequent genera of Culicidae collected. Culex flavivirus (CxFV)-related and Aedes flavivirus (AEFV)- related nucleotide sequences were detected in 17 pools of Culex and two pools of Aedes mosquitoes, respectively, among the 818 pools of non-engorged females analyzed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of CxFV and AEFV in the city of Sao Paulo and Latin America, respectively. Both viruses are insect- specific flaviviruses, a group known to replicate only in mosquito cells and induce a cytopathic effect in some situations. Hence, our data suggests that CxFV and AEFV are present in Culex and Aedes mosquitoes, respectively, in parks in the city of Sao Paulo. Even though Flavivirus species of medical importance were not detected, surveillance is recommended in the study areas because of the presence of vertebrates and mosquitoes that could act as amplifying hosts and vectors of flaviviruses, providing the required conditions for circulation of these viruses.