INTRODUCTION Chagas' disease is not considered an endemic disease in the State of Maranhão. However, entomological surveys showed high natural vector infection indices and acute cases have been identified in the last few decades. This study aimed to analyze the social, demographic and environmental conditions involved in transmission. METHODS The study describes acute Chagas' disease identifi...

This study was developed with the aim of characterizing Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite protein genotypes on the Island of São Luís, Maranhão. Blood samples were taken for direct parasitological examination (thick blood film) from 126 individuals. Among these individuals, 109 samples were also taken for molecular diagnosis by means of the polymerase chain reaction. The parasitological examina...

Bartonella species are fastidious bacteria that predominantly infect mammalian erythrocytes and endothelial cells and cause long-lasting bacteraemia in their reservoir hosts. Reports that describe the epidemiology of bartonellosis in Brazil are limited. This study aimed to detect and characterise Bartonella spp DNA from cat blood samples in São Luís, Maranhão, north-eastern Brazil. Among 200 ca...

INTRODUCTION In this paper, we report the ecology of Lutzomyia longipalpis in Caxias City, located in the eastern part of State of Maranhão, Brazil and highlight its seasonal and geographical distribution by environment. In addition, we discuss natural Leishmania infection and its relationship with visceral leishmaniasis. METHODS Between September 2007 and August 2009, the collection of sandf...

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to identify airborne fungi in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil, to determine the prevalent genera and to correlate these genera with the area and season. METHODS In total, 1,510 colony-forming units (CFUs) of airborne fungi were isolated from the north, south, east and west sides and from the center of the city from January to December 2007. The samples were collected ...

The orchid bees are a very important group of pollinators distributed in the Neotropics. Although a lot of studies concerning male euglossine bees have been done in this region, few works have so far been carried out in the Cerrado biome. This manuscript has the main objective to present the orchid bee community from a Gallery Forest in the Northeastern Brazilian Cerrado landscape, taking accou...