Analysis of the presence of infectious agents in retinas from eye banks in Brazil

• Grant number: 15/09441-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: January 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Rubens Belfort Mattos Junior
• Grantee: Flávio de Ávila Fowler
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Infectious uveitis in developing countries have a higher incidence than in developed countries, where they are very uncommon. The posterior uveitis may be caused by many pathogens, such as Herpes Simplex virus types 1 and 2, Herpes Zoster virus, Cytomegalovirus, Toxoplasma gondii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There are no studies in the literature that show the prevalence of these infections in retinas from eye banks in Brazil. In our previous studies, we observed a high incidence (87%) of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in retinas of the eye bank of Joinville (Southern Brazil), significantly higher than in São Paulo (7%). Based on these results, we found that the geographical origin and the presence of other infectious agents of posterior uveitis need to be better studied to determine the factors associated with the development of ocular lesions. In this project, we will analyze the presence of ocular lesions caused by different pathogens in retinas of eye banks of Manaus, São Paulo e Chapecó.