R Bonifacino’s research while affiliated with University College Dublin and other places

What is this page?


This page lists works of an author who doesn't have a ResearchGate profile or hasn't added the works to their profile yet. It is automatically generated from public (personal) data to further our legitimate goal of comprehensive and accurate scientific recordkeeping. If you are this author and want this page removed, please let us know.

Publications (8)


TABLE 1 Sheep and cattle populations in Uruguay, and the numbers of animals infected Category SHEEP 
TABLE 2 Economic effects of cystic echinococcosis on sheep and cattle in Uruguay 
TABLE 3 Values of various sheep and cattle products 
TABLE 5 
TABLE 7 Minimum, intermediate and maximum estimates of the costs of the reduction in productivity resulting from cystic echinococcosis in the livestock industry in Uruguay 
Estimating the economic effects of cystic Echinococcosis: Uruguay, a developing country with upper-middle income
  • Article
  • Full-text available

November 2000

·

124 Reads

·

69 Citations

Pathogens and Global Health

·

·

R Bonifacino

Cost-benefit analyses, run before the commencement of a programme to control a parasitic disease, should include estimates of the economic losses attributable to the disease. Uruguay, a middle-income, developing country, has a recent history of persistent problems with cystic echinococcosis, in both its human population and livestock. The economic effects in Uruguay of this disease, caused by the larval stage of the canine tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, have now been evaluated. Data on the incidence of the disease, in humans and livestock, were used to construct cost estimates. The estimated minimum cost (U.S.2.9million/year)wasbasedonthecondemnationcostsofinfectedoffaltogetherwiththeactualcostsofthehospitaltreatmentofthehumancases.Theestimateofthemaximumcost(U.S.2.9 million/year) was based on the condemnation costs of infected offal together with the actual costs of the hospital treatment of the human cases. The estimate of the maximum cost (U.S.22.1 million/year) also included the production losses resulting from lower livestock efficiency and the reduced income of individuals with morbidity attributable to the disease.

Download

TABLE 1 Sheep and cattle populations in Uruguay, and the numbers of animals infected Category SHEEP
TABLE 2 Economic effects of cystic echinococcosis on sheep and cattle in Uruguay
TABLE 3 Values of various sheep and cattle products
TABLE 5
TABLE 7 Minimum, intermediate and maximum estimates of the costs of the reduction in productivity resulting from cystic echinococcosis in the livestock industry in Uruguay
Estimating the economic effects of cystic echinococcosis: Uruguay, a developing country with upper-middle income

October 2000

·

115 Reads

·

57 Citations

Pathogens and Global Health

Cost-benefit analyses, run before the commencement of a programme to control a parasitic disease, should include estimates of the economic losses attributable to the disease. Uruguay, a middle-income, developing country, has a recent history of persistent problems with cystic echinococcosis, in both its human population and livestock. The economic effects in Uruguay of this disease, caused by the larval stage of the canine tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, have now been evaluated. Data on the incidence of the disease, in humans and livestock, were used to construct cost estimates. The estimated minimum cost (U.S.2.9million/year)wasbasedonthecondemnationcostsofinfectedoffaltogetherwiththeactualcostsofthehospitaltreatmentofthehumancases.Theestimateofthemaximumcost(U.S.2.9 million/year) was based on the condemnation costs of infected offal together with the actual costs of the hospital treatment of the human cases. The estimate of the maximum cost (U.S.22.1 million/year) also included the production losses resulting from lower livestock efficiency and the reduced income of individuals with morbidity attributable to the disease.


Assessment of the immunological surveillance value of humoral and lymphocyte assays in severe human cystic echinococcosis

January 2000

·

46 Reads

·

27 Citations

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

R Bonifacino

·

·

P.S. Craig

·

[...]

·

D Da Rosa

Thirty cystic echinococcosis (CE) patients in Uruguay with severe bone or secondary disseminated echinococcosis were immunologically assessed using cellular (lymphocyte transformation assay, LTA) and humoral (specific antibody and subclass responses, circulating antigen and circulating immune-complexes) immunological assays during the course of chemotherapy (albendazole and/or praziquantel). CE patients were divided into 4 groups, according to clinical treatment and outcome: (I) surgery and chemotherapy, (II) chemotherapy with outcome unchanged, (III) chemotherapy with outcome improved, and (IV) chemotherapy considered cured. Increased circulating antigen was of prognostic value in some severe CE cases where levels remained high and/or increased. The lymphoproliferative response in vitro to Echinococcus granulosus antigen was statistically greater in all patient groups compared to normal individuals but at lower levels in improved or cured CE patients. Levels of non-specific LTA response were significantly lower than controls for all groups during albendazole treatment (P < 0.001) but returned to normal levels in cured patients, a result consistent with parasite-induced suppression of cellular responses. This study suggests that, at least in severe osseous and secondary CE, immunosurveillance by specific antibodies, especially total specific immunoglobulin, was overall of more practical use than antigen-specific in-vitro lymphocyte transformation assays.


TABLE 2 Ultrasound image classification and frequency of hepatic hydatid cysts in the La Paloma and rural population samples 
Human cystic echinococcosis in a Uruguayan community: A sonographic, serologic, and epidemiologic study

October 1998

·

145 Reads

·

96 Citations

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

A prevalence and transmission study of human cystic echinococcosis (CE), due to infection with the dog tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, was undertaken in the village of La Paloma in central Uruguay. The human population was registered and screened for CE by abdominal ultrasound scan as well as a number of serologic tests. Dogs were screened for E. granulosus infection by arecoline purgation as well as specific coproantigen testing. The total prevalence of human CE (new cases and those with a previous history) was 5.6% (64 of 1,149); 3.6% (40) of the cases were new ultrasound detected asymptomatic cases (mean age = 45 years). Age prevalence increased from 1.1% in the 4-6-year-old group to > 11% in the > 60-year-old group; the 20-29-year-old group had a significantly higher CE rate of 7.4%, compared with younger and older age groups, and there was no difference between sexes. A CE rate of 3.9% (20 of 514) was also recorded by ultrasound for new cases in the population residing outside the village. Most of the hydatid cysts were located in the liver presenting as either univesicular cysts or a solid mass, and of those 71% and 63%, respectively, with such cyst presentations were seropositive against E. granulosus cyst fluid antigens. Two of eight individuals who were filter paper blood spot seropositive, but ultrasound scan negative, were subsequently diagnosed respectively with pulmonary hydatidosis after radiography, and hepatic hydatidosis after computed tomography scan. Of 36 households with a CE patient, 32 were single cases while four households each harbored two CE cases. This did not represent a clustered distribution within families (23 of 117). Almost 20% of the dogs from La Paloma were found infected with E. granulosus after purge examination, with a mean worm number of 67 (range = 1-1,020). An additional eight dogs that were purge negative were Echinococcus coproantigen positive. The study showed that human CE is highly endemic in Uruguay, with one of the highest local prevalence rates in the world. Transmission appears to occur readily within well-developed towns, as well as on rural sheep ranches. Mass screening by ultrasound scanning with confirmatory serologic testing is an effective approach to case detection at the community level.


Albendazole treatment and serological follow-up in hydatid disease of bone

February 1997

·

17 Reads

·

56 Citations

International Orthopaedics

Case histories of 9 patients with hydatid disease of bone are presented. All except one had undergone previous operations and had received oral albendazole (15 mg/kg/day) in 28 day cycles (6 to 18). The efficacy of chemotherapy was assessed by serological tests for circulating antigen, immunocomplexes and specific antibodies, and by radiography and CT scans. These methods helped to evaluate treatment and showed that the long term administration of albendazole was effective.


Evaluation of the double diffusion, enzyme immunoassay and immunoblotting techniques, for the diagnosis of human hydatid disease in tropical areas

June 1994

·

40 Reads

·

3 Citations

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo

Hydatid disease in tropical areas poses a serious diagnostic problem due to the high frequence of cross-reactivity with other endemic helminthic infections. The enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the double diffusion arc 5 showed respectively a sensitivity of 73% and 57% and a specificity of 84-95% and 100%. However, the specificity of ELISA was greatly increased by using ovine serum and phosphorylcholine in the diluent buffer. The hydatic antigen obtained from ovine cyst fluid showed three main protein bands of 64, 58 and 30 KDa using SDS PAGE and immunoblotting. Sera from patients with onchocerciasis, cysticercosis, toxocariasis and Strongyloides infection cross-reacted with the 64 and 58 KDa bands by immunoblotting. However, none of the analyzed sera recognized the 30 KDa band, that seems to be specific in this assay. The immunoblotting showed a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 100% when used to recognize the 30 KDa band.


Partial characterization of antigens in circulating immune complexes in cystic hydatid patients treated with albendazole

January 1993

·

13 Reads

·

6 Citations

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Immune complexes were precipitated by 3% polyethylene glycol (PEG) from 4 sera from albendazole-treated hydatid patients from Uruguay, and together with sheep hydatid cyst fluid were analysed by ion-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). FPLC-eluted fractions of serum preparations and cyst fluid were tested in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of specific Echinococcus granulosus antigens and also for presence of specific immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG in the serum samples. Two peaks (nos 13 and 25) were found to have antigenic activity. Antigens were identified in both serum and cyst fluid preparation (fraction 25) after sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis immunoblotting analysis, with approximate molecular masses 50 kDa and 62 kDa. Specific IgM antibody was also detected in the same FPLC fraction (no. 25) of PEG-precipitated serum complexes.


Seroprevalence of Echinococcus granulosus infection in a Uruguayan rural human population

November 1991

·

17 Reads

·

25 Citations

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Serological tests using hydatid cyst fluid (HCF) are useful as a primary screen for detecting asymptomatic infections due to Echinococcus granulosus in human populations. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) performed with whole sheep HCF was used to determine the prevalence of hydatid antibodies in a rural human population in Uruguay. In order to eliminate cross-reactions with sheep proteins in HCF, 1% normal sheep serum was added to each human serum before testing. ELISA seropositives were further tested using the double diffusion test (DD5) and confirmed where possible by ultrasound and X-ray examination. Serum samples were obtained from 420 individuals inhabiting rural areas in the Department of Paysandu (160), Rivera (21) and San José (239). An overall seroprevalence of 1.24% was obtained. Two of 17 seroreactors were subsequently proven to have hydatidosis. These results confirm and extend previous studies indicating an unusually high prevalence of E. granulosus infection in the Uruguayan population.

Citations (8)


... Still, the situation of such an intense disease might be severe for developing countries due to the socio-economic conditions, political environment, and lack of epidemiological studies on these diseases (8). Emphasizing the economic impact these diseases cause, shreds of evidence from different countries provide that zoonotic diseases cause a considerable impact on the economy (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). In the case of India, it could be understood that different zoonotic diseases are prevalent in the country. ...

Reference:

Zoonotic diseases and the plight of public health awareness: a study on human perception
Estimating the economic effects of cystic echinococcosis: Uruguay, a developing country with upper-middle income

Pathogens and Global Health

... Field surveys in several endemic regions for E. granulosus around the world have shown that seropositive individuals usually and markedly outnumber image-confirmed CE cases (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), which might suggest that human challenge with E. granulosus not always derives in a successful infection establishment. For example, in central highlands of Peru, it has been reported that although roughly 20% of the population showed to be seropositive for E. granulosus antigens, only 3% were image-confirmed CE cases (17). ...

Seroprevalence of Echinococcus granulosus infection in a Uruguayan rural human population
  • Citing Article
  • November 1991

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

... In the present study, the use of the 116 kDa antigen prepared from ovine liver cyst has allowed the achievement of a high sensitivity (100%) and of a high specificity (80%) in mouse sera whereas in ELISA tests conducted with the 2 other selected immunoreactive proteins (8 kDa and 68 kDa), the sensitivity was 96% and the specificity was slightly lower (80% and 76% respectively). For human sera, the sensitivity and the specificity of the different ELISA tests ranged from 73% to 97% and from 84% to 97% respectively [15, 24, 25, 29]. Antigens derived from ovine HC commonly used in human produced high sensitivity and specificity both in ELISA [15, 25, 29] and in immunoblotting [24]. ...

Evaluation of the double diffusion, enzyme immunoassay and immunoblotting techniques, for the diagnosis of human hydatid disease in tropical areas

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo

... Combining measurement of circulating antibody, CICs, and CAg resulted in an increase from 77% to 90% compared to measurement of serum antibody alone [91]. Antigens in soluble CICs from CE patients have been characterized by separating them on SDS-PAGE [85] or by ion-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) [92]. Both studies indicated a candidate antigen detectable in serum with an approximate relative molecular mass of 60– 67 KDa, and which is also present in cyst fluid. ...

Partial characterization of antigens in circulating immune complexes in cystic hydatid patients treated with albendazole
  • Citing Article
  • January 1993

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

... Serological tests are very important but they might be negative as the cyst is aging, calcified or dead [14]. There is no effective conservative treatment for hydatid osseous, high recurrence rate is expected without aggressive surgical resection -with healthy normal margins-, and extended adjuvant therapy with Albendazole is recommended [9,15]. The high recurrence rates stress the importance of accurate diagnosis and the following plan of management, clinical suspicion when the patient is living or have visited one of the endemic countries is mandatory. ...

Albendazole treatment and serological follow-up in hydatid disease of bone
  • Citing Article
  • February 1997

International Orthopaedics

... Kaur et al. (1999) reported a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity In this study, the overall prevalence of CE was found to be 7.14 percent. These sero-prevalence rates, however, was lesser compared to that in other regions, such as Uruguay, where a seroprevalence of 20% has been noted in humans (Cohen et al., 1998). Highest prevalence was recorded in age group below 17 years old as children have the highest possibility of exposure with sources of disease such as canines, soil, vegetables, etc. Canines act as the main source of transmission of Echinococcus species as they defecate in non restrictive fields like playgrounds and parks which are places where children prefer to play thus, they are exposed to the parasitic eggs. ...

Human cystic echinococcosis in a Uruguayan community: A sonographic, serologic, and epidemiologic study

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

... Immunological assessment of the CE status using specific class and subclass antibody responses, circulating antigens and immune-complexes have been reported in several studies [13][14][15]. Such laboratory tests do provide important additional and supporting clinical data for patients requiring long-term treatments of severe CE. ...

Assessment of the immunological surveillance value of humoral and lymphocyte assays in severe human cystic echinococcosis
  • Citing Article
  • January 2000

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

... Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.), kistik ekinokokozise (KE) neden olan, yaşam döngüleri ve konak seçimleri açısından farklılıklar gösteren ve dünya çapında öneme sahip zoonotik bir tür kompleksidir (1). Echinococcus granulosus'un erişkinleri köpek, kurt, çakal gibi evcil ve yabani karnivorların ince bağırsaklarına yerleşirken, larvası olan hidatik kist ise koyun, keçi, sığır, domuz, insan ve diğer birçok evcil ve yabani memelilerin başta karaciğer ve akciğer olmak üzere çeşitli organ ve dokularına yerleşmektedir (2). Bu tür kompleksindeki varyantlar mitokondriyal DNA (mt-DNA) analizine dayalı genotiplendirme çalışmaları ile E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) (G1 ve G3), Echinococcus equinus (G4), Echinococcus ortleppi (G5), Echinococcus canadensis (G6/G7 ve G8/G10), E. felidis olarak sınıflandırılmıştır (3). ...

Estimating the economic effects of cystic Echinococcosis: Uruguay, a developing country with upper-middle income

Pathogens and Global Health