Browsing by Author "Martinez-Valdebenito, Constanza"
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Item Endemic scrub typhus in South America(Massachusetts Medical Society, 2016) Weitzel, Thomas; Dittrich, Sabine; Lopez, Javier; Phuklia, Weerawat; Martinez-Valdebenito, Constanza; Velásquez, Katia; Blacksell, Stuart; Paris, Daniel; Abarca, KatiaScrub typhus is a life-threatening zoonosis caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi organisms that are transmitted by the larvae of trombiculid mites. Endemic scrub typhus was originally thought to be confined to the so called “tsutsugamushi triangle” within the Asia–Pacific region. In 2006, however, two individual cases were detected in the Middle East and South America, which suggested that the pathogen was present farther afield. Here, we report three autochthonous cases of scrub typhus caused by O. tsutsugamushi acquired on Chiloé Island in southern Chile, which suggests the existence of an endemic focus in South America.Item Molecular method for the detection of Andes hantavirus infection: validation for clinical diagnostics(Elsevier, 2016) Vial, Cecilia; Martinez-Valdebenito, Constanza; Rios, Susana; Martinez, Jessica; Vial, Pablo; Ferres, Marcela; Rivera, Juan; Perez, Ruth; Valdivieso, FranciscaHantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is a severe disease caused by exposure to New World hantaviruses. Early diagnosis is difficult due to the lack of specific initial symptoms. Antihantavirus antibodies are usually negative until late in the febrile prodrome or the beginning of cardiopulmonary phase, while Andes hantavirus (ANDV) RNA genome can be detected before symptoms onset. We analyzed the effectiveness of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) as a diagnostic tool detecting ANDV-Sout genome in peripheral blood cells from 78 confirmed hantavirus patients and 166 negative controls. Our results indicate that RT-qPCR had a low detection limit (~10 copies), with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 94.9%. This suggests the potential for establishing RT-qPCR as the assay of choice for early diagnosis, promoting early effective care of patients, and improving other important aspects of ANDV infection management, such as compliance of biosafety recommendations for health personnel in order to avoid nosocomial transmission.Item Person-to-Person Household and Nosocomial Transmission of Andes Hantavirus, Southern Chile, 2011(Centers for Desease Control and Prevention, 2014) Martinez-Valdebenito, Constanza; Calvo, Mario; Vial, Cecilia; Mansilla, Rita; Marco, Claudia; Palma, Eduardo; Vial, Pablo; Valdivieso, Francisca; Mertz, Gregory; Ferrés, MarcelaAndes hantavirus (ANDV) causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in Chile and is the only hantavirus for which person-to-person transmission has been proven. We describe an outbreak of 5 human cases of ANDV infection in which symptoms developed in 2 household contacts and 2 health care workers after exposure to the index case-patient. Results of an epidemiologic investigation and sequence analysis of the virus isolates support person-to-person transmission of ANDV for the 4 secondary case-patients, including nosocomial transmission for the 2 health care workers. Health care personnel who have direct contact with ANDV case-patients or their body fluids should take precautions to prevent transmission of the virus. In addition, because the incubation period of ANDV after environmental exposure is longer than that for person-to-person exposure, all persons exposed to a confirmed ANDV case-patient or with possible environmental exposure to the virus should be monitored for 42 days for clinical symptoms.