Virginia Capó

• Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kourí”

Cockroaches serve as mechanical vectors for medically important pathogens, and their presence in hospitals is a common occurrence. This review summarizes the pathogens carried by cockroaches collected in hospitals around the world during the period 2000–2024 and focuses on their antibiotic resistance mechanisms and potential impact on the public he...

Cockroaches serve as mechanical vectors for medically important pathogens, and their presence in hospitals is a common occurrence. Describe the pathogens and their resistance mechanisms carried by cockroaches collected in hospitals in different parts of the world during the period 2000-2023. This will be achieved through a systematic review of the...

Spirometra (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) affects humans and some species of domestic and wild animals which eventually interact with humans. In this article, we report three new cases of Spirometra decipiens (Diesing, 1850) infection observed in two intermediate hosts and one definitive host, in Cuba. Genetic and morphological identification of S....

Introduction: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia is one of the diseases causing the greatest negative impact on AIDS patients. The impossibility of culturing its causative agent, its unspecific clinical presentation and the high cost of molecular diagnostic methods, make it necessary to find other diagnostic alternatives. The lactate dehydrogenase te...

The results of the genotypic characterization of Pneumocystis jirovecii are described in lung tissue samples from 41 Cubans who died of AIDS with pneumocystosis between 1995 and 2008. Histological sections of the lung preserved as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue were examined. PCR amplification and nucleotide sequencing of the two mitoc...

Background: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by several species from genus Leishmania. An increase in the number of cases related to human movement has been informed in the last years. Due to the increase of suspicious leishmaniasis cases arriving in Cuba during 2017, an general analysis is presented herein. Methods: Clinical samples...

Introducción: Los estudios post mortem son esenciales cuando se enfrenta una epidemia de causa desconocida Objetivo: caracterizar el espectro de los hallazgos histopatológicos de autopsias realizadas durante la epidemia de SARS-CoV-2. Métodos: estudio de serie de 50 casos de autopsias mínimamente invasivas realizadas a fallecidos con infección a S...

Human sparganosis is a zoonosis caused by the plerocercoid larvae (Sparganum) genus Spirometra (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidae). In Cuba, isolated cases of the disease were described by conventional histological methods. At present, distribution, prevalence and species of the parasite in the country are unknown. Our group standarized polymerase chain...

Introducción: La neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii (PcP) es una de las enfermedades más frecuentes en los pacientes con VIH/sida y provoca una alta morbilidad y mortalidad.La radiología juega un papel fundamental para su diagnóstico presuntivo. Objetivo: Describir los hallazgos radiológicos de neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii en una serie de c...

Introducción: La neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii (PcP) es una de las enfermedades más frecuentes en los pacientes con VIH/sida y provoca una alta morbilidad y mortalidad. La radiología juega un papel fundamental para su diagnóstico presuntivo. Objetivo: Describir los hallazgos radiológicos de neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii en una serie de...

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with the development of gastroduodenal diseases. Aim: This study was planned to assess the relationship between H. pylori-infection and bacterial antigen recognition in Cuban patients. Methods: One hundred-five subjects (7-82 years old) with gastroduodenal symptoms were enrolled. Collected ser...

Pneumocystis jirovecii and microsporidia species are recognized as opportunistic infectious pathogens in AIDS patients. Coinfection of both in one patient has been rarely reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the coinfection of P. jirovecii and microsporidia in different tissues from AIDS deceased patients. Post mortem histologi...

Hallazgos radiológicos de la neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii en fallecidos cubanos con VIH/sida, IPK 1996-2014. Resumen Introducción: La neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii (PcP) es una de las enfermedades más frecuentes en los pacientes con VIH/sida y provoca una alta morbimortalidad. La radiología juega un papel fundamental para su diagnóstic...

Pneumocystis jirovecii and Microsporidia species are recognized as opportunistic infectious pathogens in AIDS patients. Co-infection of both in one patient has been rarely reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the co-infection of P. jirovecii and Microsporidia in different tissues from AIDS deceased patients. Post mortem histolo...

Background Leishmaniasis is a neglected parasitic disease caused by Leishmania spp., which is not endemic in Cuba. However, several factors (such as human activities, climate changes, and tourism) have led to an increase in the number of leishmaniasis cases in all regions, raising diagnosis and surveillance issues. We aim to present the retrospecti...

Una de las obras más completa publicada hasta ahora en idioma español. En ella se recopilan los conocimientos más avanzados acerca del agente causal, el vector, el hospedero y las alteraciones entre ellos, así como la clínica de la enfermedad, la epidemiología, la vigilancia y el diagnóstico de laboratorio, los métodos de prevención y control, el d...

La patología constituye un puente entre las ciencias básicas y la medicina clínica a la vez que sirve de fundamento científico en medicina. En el ámbito de las enfermedades infecciosas la patología es necesaria para determinar si existe correspondencia entre la enfermedad del paciente y el aislamiento microbiano. Con frecuencia el estudio histopato...

The cytomegalovirus (CMV) is considered a common opportunist microorganism among individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causal agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids). The main consequence of the persistent transduction of HIV is the gradual reduction of the number of T cells CD4+, which eventually causes loss of im...

The cytomegalovirus (CMV) is considered a common opportunist microorganism among individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causal agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids). The main consequence of the persistent transduction of HIV is the gradual reduction of the number of T cells CD4+, which eventually causes loss of im...

Impacto de la infección por Papilomavirus humanos en el desarrollo de lesiones precursoras de cáncer en individuos cubanos. La presente investigación pretende esclarecer el impacto de la infección por Papilomavirus humanos (PVH), específicamente los genotipos oncogénicos de PVH, en diferentes grupos de la población cubana y su papel en el desarroll...

Introduction : Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is considered a common opportunistic germ in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often causing disease in different organs. Objective: To determine the incidence of this condition in our environment. Material and Methods: A descriptive, ambispective study that included 105 of the 674 aut...

Introduction: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the necessary condition for the occurernce and development of cervical cancer. The high oncogenic risk genotypes are the responsible for this type of neoplasia and the most frequent is HPV 16 that affects roughly 60 % of cases. Commercial kits for HPV detection are expensive for resource-poor co...

Introduction: leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of the genus Leishmania. The disease presents in a great variety of clinical forms. Psoriatic leishmaniasis has occasionally been reported among the cutaneous forms of the disease. Diagnostic certainty of the condition is indispensable, given the toxicity and side effects...

Introduction: leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of the genus Leishmania. The disease presents in a great variety of clinical forms. Psoriatic leishmaniasis has occasionally been reported among the cutaneous forms of the disease. Diagnostic certainty of the condition is indispensable, given the toxicity and side effects...

Introduction : Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is considered a common opportunistic germ in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often causing disease in different organs. Objective: To determine the incidence of this condition in our environment. Material and Methods: A descriptive, ambispective study that included 105 of the 674 aut...

Introduction: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the necessary condition for the occurernce and development of cervical cancer. The high oncogenic risk genotypes are the responsible for this type of neoplasia and the most frequent is HPV 16 that affects roughly 60 % of cases. Commercial kits for HPV detection are expensive for resource-poor co...

This study aimed to provide information about the molecular epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) in a group of Cuban women. DNA from cervical samples was analyzed using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which detects 6 of the clinically most relevant high-risk HPV types. Furthermore, end point PCR and sequencing were p...

Despite the progress has been reached with Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) research, there are gaps in the knowledge of viral induced oncogenesis. The aim of the present study was to identify possible associations between HHV-8 subtypes, HHV-8 loads and clinical manifestations of HIV infected patients diagnosed with different malignancies associated wi...

Pneumocystis jirovecii and microsporidia species are recognized as opportunistic infectious pathogens in AIDS patients. Coinfection of both in one patient has been rarely reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the coinfection of P. jirovecii and microsporidia in different tissues from AIDS deceased patients. Post mortem histologi...

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is considered one of the main causal agents of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric malignant neoplasms in humans. Objective: to evaluate polymerase chain reaction for identification of Helicobacter pylori and its genotypes in paraffin embedded gastric tissues with malignant neoplasms. Material and Methods:...

visceral leishmaniasis is considered the most severe form of this disease and can be fatal if not properly treated. In Latin America, the infection is caused by Leishmania infantum (syn. Leishmania chagasi). The unequivocal diagnosis and the selection of a suitable experimental model are required to undertake studies on this biologic agent. to dete...

the Rhodococcus equi is one bacterium of the order Actinomycetales. It rarely appears in humans, but the HIV/AIDS epidemic has increased the number of cases and the main affected organ is the lung. It causes pneumonia characterized by a slow clinical and radiological progression. to describe the initial radiological alterations from R. equi infecti...

A prospective and descriptive study of 20 patients infected with HIV and admitted to "Pedro Kouri" Institute of Tropical Disease after a diagnosis of lymphoma was conducted. They were all evaluated at the onset of diagnosis by a thorough medical record exam and supportive studies such as complete blood count, globular sedimentation speed, CD4+ coun...

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is considered one of the main causal agents of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric malignant neoplasms in humans. Objective: to evaluate polymerase chain reaction for identification of Helicobacter pylori and its genotypes in paraffin embedded gastric tissues with malignant neoplasms. Material and Methods:...

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a frequent opportunistic pathogen in HIV/AIDS. The inability to culture this species prevents from acquiring deeper knowledge about its biology, drug susceptibility as well as the epidemiology of the disease that it produces. Pneumocystosis diagnosis in Cuba is suspected, based on the clinical and radiological findings whi...

To evaluate the temporal distribution (1991-2009) and associated variation of KSHV subtypes in Cuba. Phylogenetic characterization based on the KSHV K1 gene was performed using 90 KSHV positive samples. Molecular characterization confirmed the prevalence of a wide range of KSHV subtypes (A: n=48 [A5=12]; C: n=15; B: n=22; and E: n=5). In the curren...

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a frequent opportunistic pathogen in HIV/AIDS. The inability to culture this species prevents from acquiring deeper knowledge about its biology, drug susceptibility as well as the epidemiology of the disease that it produces. Pneumocystosis diagnosis in Cuba is suspected, based on the clinical and radiological findings whi...

Introduction:The association between Helicobacter pylori and the gastric malignant has been extensively demonstrated, in relation to this, the WHO determined that the microorganism is a carcinogen agent proved from group I. In Mexico the prevalence of infection by this bacterium it is high Objective: Evaluation of the relationship between the socio...

Background: Microsporidiosis is a life threatening opportunistic infection of AIDS patients. The infection is usually restricted to specific anatomical areas, but could become systemic depending on the involved species. Genital microsporidiosis in female patients is rare. Objective: To report genital microsporidiosis in female AIDS patients. Me...

Dengue virus is the most significant virus transmitted by arthropods worldwide and may cause a potentially fatal systemic disease named dengue hemorrhagic fever. In this work, dengue virus serotype 4 was detected in the tissues of one fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever case using electron immunomicroscopy and molecular methods. This is the first report...

El objetivo de este trabajo fue normalizar e implementar un sistema de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tiempo real, para determinar la carga viral de 7 genotipos de papilomavirus humano (PVH) de alto riesgo oncogénico. Se evaluó la especificidad del sistema y se construyeron las curvas estándar para PVH 16 y 18, que se emplearon para la cuan...

The objective of the present study is to standardize a real-time based polymerase chain reaction system in order to detect and quantify 7 high risk human papillomavirus in different clinical samples from patients suspected of this type of infection. The validation of a 5' exonuclease fluorescent probe real-time PCR assay (TaqMan format) for the det...

Introduction:The association between Helicobacter pylori and the gastric malignant has been extensively demonstrated, in relation to this, the WHO determined that the microorganism is a carcinogen agent proved from group I. In Mexico the prevalence of infection by this bacterium it is high Objective: Evaluation of the relationship between the socio...

We investigated the frequency of BKV, JCV and SV40 reactivation in three groups of Cuban patients by multiplex nested PCR assay of 40 paraffin-embedded colorectal neoplasm tissues, 113 urine samples, and 125 plasma samples from 27 transplant recipients, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 67 HIV-1-infected individuals with central nervous system (CN...

Introduction: visceral leishmaniasis is considered the most severe form of this disease and can be fatal if not properly treated. In Latin America, the infection is caused by Leishmania infantum (syn. Leishmania chagasi). The unequivocal diagnosis and the selection of a suitable experimental model are required to undertake studies on this biologic...

Sudden death is defined as a natural death occurring instantaneously or in the first 6 h after signs and symptoms started independently of the patient's previous health condition. Pathogenic microorganisms’ infections have been previously identified as another cause of sudden death and are usually demonstrated by the combination of microbiological...

Introduction: Pneumocystis jirovecii is one of the most important opportunistic pathogens affecting AIDS individuals and immunodepressive patients. In spite of the fact that it was observed one hundred years ago for the first time, many fundamental aspects of its biology and the morbidity it causes are still unknown. Objective: this paper was aimed...

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP) is a serious fungal infection among immunocompromised patients. In developed countries, the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of PcP have been clearly defined and well documented. However, in most developing countries, relatively little is known about the prevalence of pneumocystosis. Several articles covering African,...

The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and to introduce a new algorithm to improve its diagnosis in Cuban symptomatic children. One hundred and thirty-three consecutive children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms were studied. Patients were endoscoped and antral biopsies were obtained for rapid ureas...

Introduction: Pneumocystis jirovecii is one of the most important opportunistic pathogens affecting AIDS individuals and immunodepressive patients. In spite of the fact that it was observed one hundred years ago for the first time, many fundamental aspects of its biology and the morbidity it causes are still unknown. Objective: this paper was ai...

DNA extraction from paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) is a critical step for many molecular techniques. Several protocols have been carried out for this objective according to the literature. In the present study, the performances of three DNA extraction methods from PET were compared to establish the optimal protocol for our laboratory. Ten lymph nod...

Introducción. Los condilomas son causados por Papilomavirus Humano (PVH), esencialmente tipos 6 y 11. No se conoce la prevalencia de PVH en hombres cubanos seropositivos al Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH). Objetivo. Detectar infección por PVH, genotipos y aspectos clínicos en hombres cubanos seroposi-tivos al VIH-1. Materiales y Métodos....

DNA extraction from paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) is a critical step for many molecular techniques. Several protocols have been carried out for this objective according to the literature. In the present study, the performances of three DNA extraction methods from PET were compared to establish the optimal protocol for our laboratory. Ten lymph nod...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most important etiological agent producing pulmonary as well as extrapulmonary infection. During these last decades, the increase in the incidence of infection due to other mycobacteria species is evident. Lymphadenopathy is the most frequent extrapulmonary presentation form of Mycobacterium Genera infection among...

In Cuba, previous reports have shown an increase of epidemic KS, reaching a total of 120 cases by the end of 2007, despite the use of HAART. To evaluate and compare the role of human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) viral loads in different compartments of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS-KS) patients real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used...

INTRODUCTION: the Rhodococcus equi is one bacterium of the order Actinomycetales. It rarely appears in humans, but the HIV/AIDS epidemic has increased the number of cases and the main affected organ is the lung. It causes pneumonia characterized by a slow clinical and radiological progression. OBJECTIVE: to describe the initial radiological alterat...

To evaluate the pathogenic mechanisms and transmission routes involved in KSHV infection in 22 Cuban individuals who maintained close contact with epidemic KS patients, real-time PCR was used to quantify KSHV-DNA in clinical samples of plasma, saliva and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). KSHV-DNA was detected in 72.7% (16/22) of the contac...

Background: It is generally accepted that oxidative stress (OS) is implicated in immunological and metabolic abnormalities during HIV infection. The acting mechanism used by Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) comes to add metabolic alterations. Method: This is an observational study assessing the effect of two HAART combinations on redox...

Las meningoencefalitis por gérmenes oportunistas ocupan un lugar importante dentro de la patología neurológica del paciente sida, Treponema pallidum y Mycobacterium tuberculosis dentro de las bacterias, Cryptococcus neoformans dentro de los hongos, Toxoplasma gondii dentro de los protozoos y el Papovirus JC dentro de los virus, son de los gérmenes...

Meningoencephalitis due to opportunistic germs has an important place among the neurological diseases in AIDS patient. Treponema pallidum and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (bacteria), Cryptococcus neoformans (fungi), Toxoplasma gondii (protozoa), and Papovirus JC (virus) are the most frequently germs found in each group. Likewise, in immunodepressed p...

We report a case of an immunocompetent child with simultaneously an infection with Mycobacterium avium and Hodgkin's disease in a cervical lymph node. A positive PCR result for M. avium on a biopsy of the lymph node directed the definitive diagnosis for both etiologies and avoided a possible dissemination of this infection after chemotherapy was st...

Dengue is considered the most important arthropod-borne viral disease in humans and is caused by any of the four dengue virus (DENV-1-4) serotypes. DENV may cause the potentially fatal disease named dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). Although apoptosis has been implicated in DHF/DSS pathogenesis, the in vivo mechanisms have n...

Typical and atypical mycobacterial infections show a dramatic increase among acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients despite highly-active antiretroviral therapy. The diagnostic challenge is to identify both typical and atypical strains from patient materials in a reasonable time. Here, we present the first case in which both Mycobacterium gas...