Corynebacterium ulcerans diphtheria: an emerging zoonosis in Brazil and worldwide

Authors

  • Alexandre Alves de Souza de Oliveira Dias Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; Instituto Nacional de Controle e Controle de Qualidade em Saúde; Departamento de Imunologia
  • Louisy Sanchez Santos Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Faculdade de Ciências Médicas
  • Priscila Soares Sabbadini FCM; UERJ
  • Cíntia Silva Santos FCM; UERJ
  • Feliciano Correa Silva Junior Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; Instituto Nacional de Controle e Controle de Qualidade em Saúde; Departamento de Imunologia
  • Fátima Napoleão FCM; UERJ
  • Prescilla Emy Nagao FCM; UERJ
  • Maria Helena Simões Villas-Bôas Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; Instituto Nacional de Controle e Controle de Qualidade em Saúde; Departamento de Imunologia
  • Raphael Hirata Junior FCM; UERJ
  • Ana Luíza Mattos Guaraldi FCM; UERJ

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102011000600021

Keywords:

Corynebacterium Infections, epidemiology, Disease Reservoirs, veterinary, Zoonoses, Communicable Diseases, Emerging, Review

Abstract

The article is a literature review on the emergence of human infections caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans in many countries including Brazil. Articles in Medline/PubMed and SciELO databases published between 1926 and 2011 were reviewed, as well as articles and reports of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. It is presented a fast, cost-effective and easy to perform screening test for the presumptive diagnosis of C. ulcerans and C. diphtheriae infections in most Brazilian public and private laboratories. C. ulcerans spread in many countries and recent isolation of this pathogen in Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, is a warning to clinicians, veterinarians, and microbiologists on the occurrence of zoonotic diphtheria and C. ulcerans dissemination in urban and rural areas of Brazil and/or Latin America.

Published

2011-12-01

Issue

Section

Review

How to Cite

Dias, A. A. de S. de O., Santos, L. S., Sabbadini, P. S., Santos, C. S., Silva Junior, F. C., Napoleão, F., Nagao, P. E., Villas-Bôas, M. H. S., Hirata Junior, R., & Guaraldi, A. L. M. (2011). Corynebacterium ulcerans diphtheria: an emerging zoonosis in Brazil and worldwide . Revista De Saúde Pública, 45(6), 1176-1191. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102011000600021