Artículo sustentado el 30 de Enero 2014 para la obtención del título profesional Médico Cirujano en la Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas - UPC.

Introduction: Bordetella pertussis is an important human pathogen that causes whooping cough (pertussis), an endemic illness responsible of significant morbidity and mortality, especially in infants and children. Worldwide, there are an estimated of 16 million cases of pertussis, resulting in about 195,000 child deaths per year. In Peru, pertussis is a major health problem that has been on the increase despite immunization efforts. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of B. pertussis among children under five years of age suspected to have whopping cough in Cajamarca, Peru. Methodology: Children diagnosed with whooping cough admitted to the Hospital Regional de Cajamarca from August 2010 to July 2013 were included. Nasopharyngeal samples were obtained for B. pertussis culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection. Results: In 133 children, the pertussis tox...

Objective: Describe the prevalence of Bordetella pertussis via PCR in children under 5 years old hospitalized as probable cases of pertussis and report the most common clinical features among them. Results: A positive PCR result for B. pertussis was observed in 20.5% of our samples (18/88), one-third of them were from infants between 2 and 3 months old. The most common symptoms were paroxysms of coughing (88.9%), difficulty breathing (72.2%), cyanosis (77.8%) and fever (50%). The mother was the most common symptomatic carrier (27.8%), followed by uncles/aunts (22.2%) among children with pertussis.

Background: Human fascioliasis is considered an endemic and hyper-endemic disease in the Peruvian Andean valleys. Our objective was to determine variations in the composition of the gut microbiota among children with Fasciola hepatica and children who do not have this parasitosis. (2) Method: A secondary analysis was performed using fecal samples stored in our biobank. The samples were collected as part of an epidemiological Fasciola hepatica cross-sectional study in children from 4 through 14 years old from a community in Cajamarca, Peru. (3) Results: In a comparison of the bacterial genera that make up the intestinal microbiota between the F. hepatica positive and negative groups, it was found that there are significant differences in the determination of Lactobacillus (p = 0.010, CI: 8.5–61.4), Bacteroides (p = 0.020, CI: 18.5–61.4), Clostridium (p < 0.001, CI: 3.5–36.0), and Bi...

Background: Dengue is the most prevalent acute febrile disease with serious clinical consequences in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and America. In Peru, it represents a significant public health issue due to its hyperendemic nature, with serotype 2 (DENV-2) being the predominant serotype that leads to the most severe clinical manifestations of the disease. This study focuses on the molecular characterization and analysis of the intraserotypic diversity of DENV-2 circulating in the endemic region of Cajamarca. Methods: A total of 3,967 blood serum samples from patients with acute febrile illness (AFI) were analyzed between 2016 and 2022 to detect DENV and DENV-2 using real-time RT-PCR. The viral envelope (E) gene was then sequenced using the Sanger method. Finally, phylogenetic reconstruction was conducted using the maximum likelihood method. Results: A total of 32 complete...

Objective: To describe the prevalence of dengue virus serotypes, as well as other viral and bacterial pathogens that cause acute febrile illness during an outbreak in Cajamarca in 2016. Results: Dengue virus (DENV) was the most frequent etiologic agent detected in 25.8% of samples (32/124), followed by Rickettsia spp. in 8.1% (10/124), Zika virus in 4.8% (6/124), Chikungunya virus 2.4% (3/124) and Bartonella bacilliformis 1.6% (2/124) cases. No positive cases were detected of Oropouche virus and Leptospira spp. DENV serotypes identification was only achieved in 23% of the total positive for DENV, two samples for DENV-2 and four samples for DENV-4. During the 2016 outbreak in Cajamarca-Peru, it was observed that in a large percentage of positive samples for DENV, the infecting serotype could not be determined by conventional detection assays. This represents a problem for the national sur...

Background: The infection caused by Mayaro virus (MAYV), which presents as an acute febrile illness, is considered a neglected tropical disease. The virus is an endemic and emerging pathogen in South America and the Caribbean, responsible for occasional and poorly characterized outbreaks. Currently there is limited information about its expansion and risk areas. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 10 urban primary care health centers in the Cajamarca region of Peru from January to June 2017. A total of 359 patients with suspected febrile illness were assessed. RNA was extracted from serum samples, following which MAYV real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) for the detection of the nsP1 gene was performed. Results: MAYV was detected in 11.1% (40/359) of samples after RT-PCR amplification and confirmatory DNA sequencing. Most infections were detected in the adult popula...

Objective: Describe the prevalence of HPV genotypes via PCR and DNA sequencing in 397 women who attended to the gynecological outpatient center in the Hospital Regional Docente de Cajamarca from March to September 2017. Results: A positive PCR result for HPV was observed in 121 cervical samples. A high-risk genotype was found in 63.6% (77/121) of patients, a probably oncogenic type in 23.1% (28/121) and a low-risk type in 7.4%. Among the high-risk genotypes, HPV-31 was the most common one present in 20% (21/77), followed by HPV-16 in 11.4% (12/77). Coinfections between two or more genotypes were observed in 12 cases.

Background and Objectives: Pertussis is an infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Bordetella pertussis. In Peru, actual public health programs indicate that vaccination against B. pertussis must be mandatory and generalized, be-sides all detected cases must be reported. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of B. pertussis among children under five years of age with a presumptive diagnosis of whopping cough in Cajamarca, a region located in northern Peru. Materials and Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study were children under 5 years old hospitalized as presumptive cases of pertussis during December 2017 to December 2018. The nasopharyngeal samples were analyzed by real-time PCR for the detection of B. pertussis. Results: B. pertussis was identified as PCR + in 42.3% of our sample (33/78). The clinical presentation that was observed...

Pertussis is an infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Bordetella pertussis. In Peru, actual public health programs indicate that vaccination against B. pertussis must be mandatory and generalized, besides all detected cases must be reported. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of B. pertussis among children under five years of age with a presumptive diagnosis of whopping cough in Cajamarca, a region located in northern Peru.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado.