ABSTRACT Sporotrichosis is the most frequent subcutaneous mycosis in Latin America. It is caused by species of the genus Sporothrix. Infection in humans occurs through the entry of the fungus into the skin. Zoonotic outbreaks involving cats in the transmission of the disease have been frequently reported. The lymphocutaneous form is the most commonly observed and the upper limbs are the most affected sites. We report a case of a 64-year-old healthy female patient with a lymphocutaneous form with rapid progression of lesions, which was refractory to initial treatment with itraconazole. Treatment with liposomal amphotericin B was performed with a satisfactory resolution, but aesthetic and functional sequelae in the left upper limb were installed.

BACKGROUND Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus that can cause chronic and debilitating manifestations. The first autochthonous case in Rio de Janeiro state was diagnosed in 2015, and an outbreak was declared in 2016. OBJECTIVE The aim of this work was to evaluate CHIKV viral load in serum, plasma and urine in cancer patients to determine the best sample for diagnosis, as well as perform molecular characterisation and phylogenetic analysis of circulating strains. METHODS Paired serum, plasma and urine collected from 31 cancer patients were tested by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and a segment of the CHIKV E1 gene was sequenced. FINDINGS We detected 11 CHIKV+ oncological patients. Paired samples analyses of nine patients showed a different pattern of detection. Also, a higher viral load in plasma (6.84 log10) and serum (6.07 log10) vs urine (3.76 log10) was found. Phylogenetic analysis and molecular characterisation revealed East/Central/Southern Africa (ECSA) genotype circulation and three amino acids substitutions (E1-K211T, E1-M269V, E1-T288I) in positive patients. MAIN CONCLUSION The results indicate the bioequivalence of serum and plasma for CHIKV diagnosis, with urine being an important complement. ECSA genotype was circulating among patients in the period of the 2016 outbreak with K211T, M269V and T288I substitution.

The epidemiology of urinary tract infections (UTI) by Staphylococcus saprophyticus has not been fully characterised and strain typing methods have not been validated for this agent. To evaluate whether epidemiological relationships exist between clusters of pulsed field gel-electrophoresis (PFGE) genotypes of S. saprophyticus from community-acquired UTI, a cross-sectional surveillance study was conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In total, 32 (16%) female patients attending two walk-in clinics were culture-positive for S. saprophyticus. Five PFGE clusters were defined and evaluated against epidemiological data. The PFGE clusters were grouped in time, suggesting the existence of community point sources of S. saprophyticus. From these point sources, S. saprophyticus strains may spread among individuals.