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Objectives: To evaluate the impact of the April 2016 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Ecuador on the incidence of Zika virus (ZIKV) cases., Methods: We used the national public health surveillance system for reportable transmissible conditions and included suspected and laboratory-confirmed ZIKV cases. We compared the number of cases before and after the earthquake in areas closer to and farther from the epicenter., Results: From January to July 2016, 2234 patients suspected of having ZIKV infection were reported in both affected and control areas. A total of 1110 patients had a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay, and 159 were positive for ZIKV. The cumulative incidence of ZIKV in the affected area was 11.1 per 100 000 after the earthquake. The odds ratio of having ZIKV infection in those living in the affected area was 8.0 (95% CI = 4.4, 14.6; P < .01) compared with the control area and adjusted for age, gender, province population, and number of government health care facilities., Conclusions: A spike in ZIKV cases occurred after the earthquake. Patients in the area closest to the epicenter had a delay in seeking care.

A carcass represents an ecosystem for necrophagous insects and other arthropods communities, and the decomposition stages are related to an ecological succession. Several factors are associated with the insects colonization and subsequently, accelerate or retard the decomposition. Some studies confirm the seasonal differences in blowflies and other medicolegal important insects. From 2015 and 2016 during four months was studied the entomofauna associated to a beef biomodel. Insects species abundance from monthly catches was used for richness determination, and the community structure was estimated using diversity and evenness indexes. The monthly precipitation data was used for describing the association between environmental and insects abundance. Were collected 1046 specimens comprises the Order Diptera (97%) and including Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Piophilidae, Sarcophagidae and Otitidae; in Coleoptera (3%): Dermestidae, Cleridae and Staphylinidae. Were found twelve species: Chrysomya megacephala, C. albiceps, Lucilia cuprina, Cochliomya macellaria, Musca domestica, Ophyra aenescens, O. chalcogaster, Atherigona orientalis, Piophila casei, Dermestes maculatus, Necrobia rufipes and Belonuchus rufipennis. The highest insects abundance and richness were registered in May, February and November, while the lowest values were found in August. The Calliphoridae and Muscidae abundance and richness increase between November and May that correspond to ending of rainy season and beginning of the dry season, while the values decrease in August that correspond to the rainy season. Our study represents the first investigation to determine the seasonal variation of medicolegal important insects in Venezuela. However are necessary more studies that consider different habitat type (forests, savannas, etc) to determine the insects occurrence among different decomposition stages.