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Hepatitis Delta is a disease caused by exposure to hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis D (HDV) viruses, usually with a more severe clinical outcome when compared to an HBV monoinfection. To date, the real prevalence of HDV infection is underestimated and detection methods are poorly available, especially in more endemic regions. Therefore, a one-step RT-qPCR method for quantification of HDV-RNA was developed. Biological samples were selected between 2017–2023 from patients at the Ambulatório Especializado em Hepatites Virais of the Centro de Pesquisa em Medicina Tropical de Rondônia and Serviço de Assistência Especializada and underwent the test developed by this study and a second quantitative RT-qPCR assay. The slope of the initial quantitative assay was − 3.321 with an efficiency of 100.04% and amplification factor equal to 2. Analysis of the repeatability data revealed a Limit of Quantification of 5 copies/reaction and Limit of Detection (95%) of 2.83 copies per reaction. In the diagnostic sensitivity tests, there was an accuracy of 97.44% when compared to the reference test. This assay proved to be highly efficient and reproducible, making it a valuable tool to monitor hepatitis Delta patients and assess the risk of disease progression, as well as the effectiveness of treatment.

From January to March 2001 a seroepidemiological survey for American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) was carried out among urban and rural human populations in areas of the Upper Purus basin, in the western Brazilian Amazon region, using serial testing with three different serological techniques. The sample was composed of 1,055 individuals: 844 from urban and 211 from rural areas. Autochthonous infection was identified in nine individuals aged 16 to 72 years: five from urban and four from rural areas. The estimated prevalences of Chagas infection for the urban and rural areas were 0.6% (95% CI: 0.2-1.4) and 1.9% (95% CI: 0.6-4.5) respectively. An apparent clustering trend was noted: seven were born along the Purus river: three lived at the same locality and two of them in the same dwelling.