National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
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Antimicrobial activity of prophage endolysins against critical Enterobacteriaceae antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Get PDFEnterobacteriaceae species are part of the 2017 World Health Organization antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens list for development of novel medicines. Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is an increasing threat to public health and has become a relevant human pathogen involved in life-threatening infections. Phage therapy involves the use of phages or their lytic endolysins as bioagents for the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases. Gram-negative bacteria have an outer membrane, making difficult the access of endolysins to the peptidoglycan. Here, three endolysins from prophages infecting three distinct Enterobacterales species, Kp2948-Lys from K. pneumoniae, Ps3418-Lys from Providencia stuartii, and Kaer26608-Lys from Klebsiella aerogenes, were purified and exhibited antibacterial activity against their specific bacterium species verified by zymogram assays. These three endolysins were successfully associated to liposomes composed of dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline (DMPC), dioleoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE) and cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHEMS) at a molar ratio (4:4:2), with an encapsulation efficiency ranging from 24 to 27%. Endolysins encapsulated in liposomes resulted in higher antibacterial activity compared to the respective endolysin in the free form, suggesting that the liposome-mediated delivery system enhances fusion with outer membrane and delivery of endolysins to the target peptidoglycan. Obtained results suggest that Kp2948-Lys appears to be specific for K. pneumoniae, while Ps3418-Lys and Kaer26608-Lys appear to have a broader antibacterial spectrum. Endolysins incorporated in liposomes constitute a promising weapon, applicable in the several dimensions (human, animals and environment) of the One Health approach, against multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.F.F.V. was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
through a project grant (PTDC/BTM-SAL/28978/2017) that supported
this work. The work is partially supported by National funds from FCT,
projects UIDB/04138/2020, UIDP/04138/2020, UIDB/00211/2020
and UIDB/04046/2020 (DOI https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/0404
6/2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Rapid cross-border emergence of NDM-5-producing Escherichia coli in the European Union/European Economic Area, 2012 to June 2022
Get PDF(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacological Studies of Medicinal Potential Phytochemicals in Plant Roots)Whole genome sequencing data of 874 Escherichia coli isolates carrying bla NDM-5 from 13 European Union/European Economic Area countries between 2012 and June 2022 showed the predominance of sequence types ST167, ST405, ST410, ST361 and ST648, and an increasing frequency of detection. Nearly a third (30.6%) of these isolates were associated with infections and more than half (58.2%) were predicted to be multidrug-resistant. Further spread of E. coli carrying bla NDM-5 would leave limited treatment options for serious E. coli infections.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Toxicity of Nanomaterials and Legacy Contaminants: Risks to the Environment and Human Health
Get PDFEditorial of Special Issue Toxicity of Nanomaterials and Legacy Contaminants: Risks to the Environment and Human Health.Nanotechnology and the incorporation of nanomaterials (NM) into everyday products help to solve problems in society and improve the quality of life, allowing for major advances in the technological, industrial, and medical fields. Despite this positive and encouraging side of nanotechnology, the potential risks of NM to human health and the environment, as well as the ethical, legal, and social implications associated with nanotechnology, cannot be disregarded. Indeed, the same characteristics that make NM interesting from a technological application point of view may be undesirable upon their release into the environment. In fact, hundreds of tons of NM are released into the environment every year. The reduced dimensions of NM facilitate their diffusion into and transport through the atmosphere, water, and soil, and as well as their uptake and (bio)accumulation in organisms.
Nanotoxicology has emerged as a discipline that seeks to assess the potential risk of NM, integrating knowledge and resources from material science, biology, toxicology, and analytical chemistry. Several studies have alerted us to the risks that certain NM represent for the environment and for our health, depending on their persistence and circulation in ecosystems, on the dose and responses of organisms to acute and chronic exposure to these substances, and on the ability of organisms to (bio)accumulate and/or excrete them. However, knowledge of the harmful effects of these contaminants of emerging concern is still insufficient, including mixture effects. Efforts to advance our knowledge on the reactivity of NM and their effects have been made using mostly in vitro and in vivo models; however, in recent years, in silico approaches and quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) modeling have been gaining more attention. Nanotoxicity assessment using in vitro models gathers important information regarding the mechanism(s) of action of NM at the cellular and molecular levels. These models also offer the benefits of reduced costs and ethical concerns over animal welfare (3Rs principle), usually resulting in the faster toxicity screening of chemicals, an advantage considering the increasing number of materials and contaminant combinations to be tested. However, they lack the complexity and metabolic capabilities that in vivo models provide, which is important in identifying the relationship between exposure dose and the occurrence of adverse effects, and in understanding how the body handles NM in terms of their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). (...)Ana Teresa Reis is thankful for the financial support of FCT and FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through the COMPETE 2020—POCI, in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029651, and individual FCT Grant SFRH/BPD/122112/2016. Sónia Fraga acknowledges the funding from the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) through the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER/FNR) and from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (grant refs. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031162 and DL-57/INSA-06/2018). The authors also thank FCT/MCTES for the financial support to EPIUnit (UIDB/04750/2020) and ITR (LA/P/0064/2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Impact of renovations on EDC levels and school children's health: bridging science-policy gaps by addressing scientific uncertainties
No full textBuilding renovations may yield emissions of various air chemicals that can disrupt normal
human endocrine functions. However, only a few endocrine disruptive health outcomes
(e.g., respiratory, behavioural, or learning domains) have been comprehensively addressed
among susceptible populations, particularly schoolchildren. This project investigates the
role of school building renovations on childrenís exposure to indoor Endocrine Disrupting
Chemicals (EDCs) and the associated respiratory and cognitive health risks.This work is financed by PTDC/CTA-AMB/3040/2021 from Fundação para a Ciência e a
Tecnologia (FCT) through national funds and fellowship 2022.11261.BD (FCT). Additional financial support was
received from LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE) and UIDB/00511/2020 - UIDP/00511/2020 (LEPABE)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Sintomas de COVID-19 durante predominância da variante Delta versus Ómicron: coorte prospetiva de profissionais de saúde
Get PDFP 22 abstract disponível em: https://pandemias.organideia.pt/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/livro_resumosSV.pdfIntrodução: A apresentação clínica da COVID-19, na maioria dos pacientes infetados, foi considerada como leve sem necessidade de hospitalização. No entanto, ao longo da pandemia, o padrão de sintomatologia variou, nomeadamente pela influência da introdução da vacina, mas também consoante a variante SARS-CoV-2 em circulação.
Objetivos: Neste estudo pretende-se comparar a sintomatologia autorreportada pelos profissionais de saúde num período de predominância (>50%) da variante Delta (PVD) comparativamente a um período de predominância da Variante Ómicron (PVO).
Metodologia: Foram utilizados os dados de um estudo de coorte realizado entre 1 de junho de 2021 e 26 de janeiro de 2022, no qual foram seguidos 3255 profissionais de saúde (PS) com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 70 anos. Foram comparados os sintomas autorreportados pelos PS que manifestaram doença sintomática (teste PCR positivo e autorreporte de sintomas) durante o período de PVD (1.6.2021 a 19.12.2021) comparativamente ao período de PVO (3.1.2022 a 26.1.2022). As diferenças entre os dois grupos foram analisadas usando o teste Qui-quadrado ou o teste exato de Fisher no caso de menos de 5 eventos.
Resultados: De entre o total de 3255 PS seguidos, 84 tiveram um teste positivo com reporte de sintomatologia durante o período do estudo (43 durante o período PVD e 41 durante o período PVO). Os sintomas febre, anosmia, e ageusia foram mais reportados durante o período PVD comparativamente ao período PDO (46,2% versus 21,6%, p=0.04; 64,3% versus 11,1%, p<0.001; 56,1% versus 17,1%, p=0.001). O sintoma dor de garganta foi mais reportado durante o período PVO do que no período PVD (9,0% versus 36,7%, p=0.006). As percentagens dos casos sintomáticos que tinham a 1ª dose de reforço da vacina foram de 45,7% e 91,4% nos períodos PVD e PVO, respetivamente.
Conclusões: Os resultados obtidos através deste estudo permitiram verificar que houve uma alteração nas frequências dos sintomas reportados pelos PS durante o período PVD comparativamente ao período PVO. É essencial o desenvolvimento e manutenção de estudos de seguimento que permitam monitorizar a evolução desta sintomatologia para reconhecer a apresentação clínica da doença e identificar possíveis causas virológicas e imunológicas para as alterações observadas.Este estudo foi realizado no âmbito dos projetos “Developing an infrastructure and performing vaccine effectiveness studies for COVID-19 vaccine in the EU/EEA” (Contract ECD.11486 Lot3 (HCW) and amendment Nº ECD.11486), “Enhanced laboratory support to perform assessment of vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection” (ECD.12175) e “Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden and Impact Studies (VEBIS) of COVID-19 and Influenza” financiados pelo Centro Europeu de Prevenção e Controlo das Doenças (ECDC) por meio de um contrato de serviço com a Epiconcept (ECD.12609).N/
Urinary biomonitoring in firefighters: baseline data of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites
No full textPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most relevant pollutants in the
firefighting context and urine the most straightforward and interesting matrix for
biomonitoring. Recent studies have found elevated levels of PAH metabolites in firefighters
in comparison to the general population. Since Portuguese firefighters are poorly
characterized, the aim of this study was to determine the baseline data (i.e., with no recent
exposure to fire emissions) of several urinary monohydroxyl-PAHs (OHPAHs; 1-hydroxynaphthalene, 1-hydroxyacenaphthene, 2-hydroxyfluorene, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-
hydroxypyrene, 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene) in this occupational group. A total of 106
Portuguese firefighters were enrolled in this study and characterized through a previously
validated questionnaire. Individual OHPAHs were detected with a frequency of 90-99%,
except for 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene (biomarker of exposure to carcinogenic PAHs) that was
not identified. The individual levels of 1-hydroxypyrene (the established biomarker for PAHs
exposure) were lower than the recommended biological exposure limit proposed by the
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (0.93 µmol/mol creatinine).
This study characterized the baseline data of PAHs exposure in Portuguese firefighters by
urinary biomonitoring, which enables comparison with occupational studies from other
countries and contributes to fill a research gap in PortugalThis work was financed through project BioFirEx: PCIF/SSO/0017/2018 by the Fundação
para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT-MCTES), through
national funds. The authors are grateful to FCT for financial support through national funds by
UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020, LA/P/0008/2020, 2022.05381.PTDC, PCIF/SSO/0090/2019, FCT/MCTES
(PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). B. Barros (PhD
grant 2020.07394.BD) and M. Oliveira (scientific contract CEECIND/03666/2017) are thankful to FCT-MCTES for
their financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Implementation of a Nationwide Surveillance Network of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Children < 2 years old in Portugal
Get PDFHuman respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in infants, young children and elderly. Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) therapy is the available method to prevent and combat severe disease in infants, nevertheless there is a global effort in the development of vaccines and new generation of MAb. In this sense, RSV surveillance is essential to estimate the burden of RSV infection, evaluate the impact of preventive measures and to support public health decisions. Following European recommendations, a nationwide hospital-based RSV sentinel network denominated VIGIRSV was set up in Portugal. The aim of this work is to describe the implementation of VIGIRSV and report preliminary results obtained in this surveillance. VIGIRSV was implemented in 2021 with the initiative of the National Institute of Health Dr.outor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and the Portuguese Paediatrics Society (PPS), and in 2023, 20 Hospitals collaborate in the surveillance. The surveillance is based on the recruitment of children <2 years-old hospitalized for, at least, 24 hours, that fulfill the case definition fordue to an RSVAcute Respiratory Infection (ARI). At recruitment, the paediatrician fills an epidemiological clinical questionnaire, and biological samples are collected for laboratorial diagnosis. Positive samples for RSV are forwarded to INSA for complementary virological analyses such as genetic characterization of the virus. Preliminary results from the first 2 years of surveillance are presented in table 1 and show an early RSV activity with high intensity in the 2022/23 season.. The data obtained from VIGIRSV´s results integrate the weekly published “Epidemiological surveillance bulletin of Influenza and other respiratory viruses” which can be foundavailable at https://www.insa.min-saude.pt/category/informacao-e-cultura-cientifica/publicacoes/atividade-gripal/, as well as the surveillance at European level. In addition, epidemiological and virological results are disclosed in scientific publications. The maintenance of such important surveillance is possible due to effort of distinct organizations and professionals, and has impact on the public health service.N/
Applying Cynara cardunculus L. leaf extracts to increase poultry meat shelf life
Get PDFCardoon, Cynara cardunculus L. (Asteraceae), is a multipurpose crop. Its flower is used as vegetal rennet in the production of some cheeses, and its leaves, the main by-product generated, have excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. These properties may be an asset in the food industry, as cardoons’ leaves may be used to delay lipid oxidation and microbial growth, thus prolonging foods’ shelf life. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cultivated cardoon and globe artichoke leaf ethanolic extracts on poultry meat preservation. Extracts were mixed with the poultry meat (1% w/w) and stored under refrigeration (5°C ± 2°C) for 15 days. The microbiological growth was evaluated as well as moisture, pH, acidity, colour, Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVBN), and lipid oxidation by Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS). Both extracts were effective in retarding microbial growth by maintaining a constant pH and level of acidity. After 15 days, poultry meat with both extracts showed a difference of up to 11 log CFU/g compared to control samples (without extract). Also, both extracts were able to reduce the lipid oxidation of the poultry meat when compared to the control samples at the end of the assay. The colour of extracts can be a limitation due to the greenish-yellow colour that is seen in the meat, although it was more evident in the sample with the cardoon extract. Overall, cardoon extract was the most effective in extending the shelf life of poultry meat.Funding: This work was financially supported by the Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center—MEtRICs, which is financed by national funds from the FCT/MCTES (UIDB/04077/2020 and UIDP/04077/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Excess mortality attributed to heat and cold: a health impact assessment study in 854 cities in Europe
Get PDFMCC Collaborative Research Network: Souzana Achilleos (Department of Primary Care and Population Health,
University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus), Jan Kyselý
(Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech
Republic, Prague, Czech Republic), Ene Indermitte (Department of
Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia),
Jouni J K Jaakkola and Niilo Ryti (Center for Environmental and
Respiratory Health Research, and Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu
University Hospital, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland), Mathilde Pascal
(Santé Publique France, Department of Environmental Health, French
National Public Health Agency, Saint Maurice, France), Antonis Analitis
(Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, National
and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece), Klea Katsouyanni
(School of Population Health and Environmental Sciences, King’s College,
London, UK), Patrick Goodman (Technological University Dublin,
Dublin, Ireland), Ariana Zeka (Institute for the Environment, Brunel
University London, London, UK), Paola Michelozzi (Department of
Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy),
Danny Houthuijs and Caroline Ameling (National Institute for Public
Health and the Environment, Centre for Sustainability and Environmental
Health, Bilthoven, Netherlands), Shilpa Rao (Norwegian institute of
Public Health, Oslo, Norway), Susana das Neves Pereira da Silva and
Joana Madureira (Department of Epidemiology, Instituto Nacional de
Saúde Dr Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal), Iulian-Horia Holobaca (Faculty
of Geography, Babes-Bolay University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania),
Aurelio Tobias (Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water
Research, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Barcelona, Spain),
Carmen Íñiguez (Department of Statistics and Computational Research,
Universitat de València, València, Spain), Bertil Forsberg (Department of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden),
and Martina S Ragettli (Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel,
Switzerland).Online publication has been corrected. Correction available online 2 July 2024 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00171-7Background: Heat and cold are established environmental risk factors for human health. However, mapping the related health burden is a difficult task due to the complexity of the associations and the differences in vulnerability and demographic distributions. In this study, we did a comprehensive mortality impact assessment due to heat and cold in European urban areas, considering geographical differences and age-specific risks.
Methods: We included urban areas across Europe between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 12, 2019, using the Urban Audit dataset of Eurostat and adults aged 20 years and older living in these areas. Data were extracted from Eurostat, the Multi-country Multi-city Collaborative Research Network, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and Copernicus. We applied a three-stage method to estimate risks of temperature continuously across the age and space dimensions, identifying patterns of vulnerability on the basis of city-specific characteristics and demographic structures. These risks were used to derive minimum mortality temperatures and related percentiles and raw and standardised excess mortality rates for heat and cold aggregated at various geographical levels.
Findings: Across the 854 urban areas in Europe, we estimated an annual excess of 203 620 (empirical 95% CI 180 882-224 613) deaths attributed to cold and 20 173 (17 261-22 934) attributed to heat. These corresponded to age-standardised rates of 129 (empirical 95% CI 114-142) and 13 (11-14) deaths per 100 000 person-years. Results differed across Europe and age groups, with the highest effects in eastern European cities for both cold and heat.
Interpretation: Maps of mortality risks and excess deaths indicate geographical differences, such as a north-south gradient and increased vulnerability in eastern Europe, as well as local variations due to urban characteristics. The modelling framework and results are crucial for the design of national and local health and climate policies and for projecting the effects of cold and heat under future climatic and socioeconomic scenarios.Funding: The study was funded by Medical Research Council of the UK
(MR/V034162/1 and MR/R013349/1), the Natural Environment Research
Council UK (NE/R009384/1), the EU’s Horizon 2020 (820655), and the
EU’s Joint Research Center (JRC/SVQ/2020/MVP/1654). AU and JK
were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (22–24920S). VH has
received funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement
(101032087).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Relatório REVIVE 2022 - Culicídeos e Ixodídeos: Rede de Vigilância de Vetores
No full textRelatório Culicídeos e Ixodídeos relativo às atividades desenvolvidas em 2022 no âmbito da Rede de Vigilância de Vetores (REVIVE). O programa REVIVE visa monitorizar a atividade de artrópodes hematófagos, caracterizar as espécies e sua ocorrência sazonal, e identificar agentes patogénicos importantes em saúde pública.
Das atividades apresentadas no presente relatório, destaca-se o seguinte:
REVIVE – Culicídeos · Participaram as cinco Administrações Regionais de Saúde e a Direção Regional de Saúde da Madeira, entidades que realizaram colheitas de mosquitos em 236 concelhos de Portugal; · No total foram identificados 40.293 mosquitos. Nas amostras em que foi pesquisada a presença de flavivírus patogénicos para o Homem, os resultados foram negativos; · O mosquito invasor Aedes aegypti está presente na Região Autónoma da Madeira desde 2005. Outra espécie de mosquitos invasor, nomeadamente Aedes albopictus, foi identificado, pela primeira vez, na região Norte de Portugal em 2017, no Algarve em 2018 e no Alentejo em 2022. Estas espécies são vetoras de vírus como dengue, zika e chikungunya, e têm vindo a aumentar a sua distribuição geográfica naquelas regiões; · No âmbito do REVIVE – Culicídeos foi feita a vigilância em seis aeroportos internacionais, dois aeródromos, catorze portos e seis outros pontos de entrada de acordo com o Regulamento Sanitário Internacional.
REVIVE – Ixodídeos · Participaram as cinco Administrações Regionais de Saúde e a Direção Regional de Saúde da Madeira, entidades que realizaram colheitas de carraças em 169 concelhos; · No total foram identificados 1810 ixodídeos. Foi identificada uma espécie exótica – Argas spp. · Foi detetada a presença de duas espécies de Borrelias e quatro espécies de Rickettsias patogénicas para o Homem tendo sido observada a prevalência média de 3,0% e 20,7%, respetivamente, sobretudo em carraças colhidas quando parasitavam seres humanos. A pesquisa do vírus da febre hemorrágica Crimeia-Congo (CCHFV) foi realizada em exemplares de carraças do género Hyalomma com resultados negativos.
O programa REVIVE resulta da colaboração entre instituições do Ministério da Saúde (Direção-Geral da Saúde, Administrações Regionais de Saúde, Direções Regionais de Saúde e INSA), tendo como objetivos i) monitorizar a atividade de artrópodes hematófagos; ii) caracterizar as espécies e sua ocorrência sazonal; iii) identificar agentes patogénicos importantes em saúde pública, dependendo da densidade dos vetores, o nível de infeção ou a introdução de espécies exóticas para alertar para as medidas de controlo.
O REVIVE contribui para um conhecimento sistemático da fauna de culicídeos e de ixodídeos de Portugal, e do seu potencial papel de vetor, constituindo uma componente dos programas de vigilância epidemiológica indispensável à avaliação do risco de transmissão de doenças potencialmente graves.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio