<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Dear colleagues,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">I am finishing a paper and got stuck with the use of the terms load or burden to define the amount of Leishmania infantum in a vertebrate host.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">I used the term burden. A professional translating company started to use load instead but finally led both terms in the text.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Looking at the Websters dictionary, I could not find differences between them (in the sense we used in the paper).</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">However, when looking at PubMed the terms were used differently, depending on the type of organism. The statistics were:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">HIV burden: 6,230; HIV load: 23,266</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">HCV burden: 1,040; HCV load: 4,904</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Plasmodium burden: 978; Plasmodium load: 465</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Leishmania burden: 691; Leishmania load: 651</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Is the question is irrelevant and are both terms interchageable or one is better for viruses while the other is better for parasites? Do the PubMed votes matter or is democracy a fools' realm?</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Is it less elegant to use both in a text or should just one be used in each paper/situation?</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Provoking specially the English speaking colleagues (but not only them)!</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Cheers,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Carlos.</div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Carlos H. N. Costa, MD, DSc.</span></div><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Chefe/Head<br>Departamento de Medicina Comunitária<br>Centro de Ciências da Saúde<br>Coordenador/Coordinator</span></div><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Laboratório de Leishmanioses - LabLeish</span></div><div><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Instituto de Doenças Tropicais Natan Portella<br></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Universidade Federal do Piauí<br></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><font face="verdana, sans-serif">Rua Artur de Vasconcelos 151-Sul</font></div><div><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">64001-450 Teresina-PI</span></div><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><div style="text-align:left">Brazil</div><div style="text-align:left">Telephones: +55 86 3222-4377 (W), <div style="text-align:center;display:inline"><div style="text-align:center;display:inline">+55 86 3221-3062 (W), </div></div><div style="text-align:center;display:inline">+55 86 3237-1075 (R). </div></div><div style="text-align:left"><br></div><div style="text-align:left"><br></div><span style="font-size:x-small"><div style="text-align:left">Aviso: As informações contidas nesta mensagem são CONFIDENCIAIS, protegidas pelo sigilo legal, por direitos autorais e destinadas exclusivamente à pessoa ou organização para a qual a mensagem foi destinada.</div><div style="text-align:left">Warning: This message is meant only for the intended recipient of the transmission. 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