Search

Background: Human activities, such as urbanization and climate change, have facilitated the spread of arbovirus-carrying vectors, disproportionately affecting vulnerable traditional Indigenous communities. Objective: To explore the relationships between subclinical myocardial dysfunction, assessed by global longitudinal strain (GLS), and comprehensive arbovirus serology in an Indigenous population, while also describing the serological and epidemiological profile of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. Methods: This ancillary study is part of the first phase (2016–2017) of the Project of Atherosclerosis among Indigenous Populations (PAI), a cross-sectional study involving participants from two Indigenous communities with different degrees of urbanization and a highly urbanized city in Northeast Brazil. We assessed the seroprevalence of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses in the Fulni-ô Indigenous community, the less urbanized and most traditional group. Additionally, we explored the relationship between these viruses and subclinical heart disease, assessed by speckle-tracking echocardiography-derived GLS. Results: One hundred seventy-four participants were included, with a median age of 45.0 years (interquartile range 38.0–55.0). The majority were female (58.6%; n = 102). The prevalence of anti-ZIKV IgG was 95.3%; anti-DENV IgG was 85.8%, and anti-CHIKV IgG was 70.9%. GLS abnormalities were detected in nearly half (48.3%) of the cohort. However, no significant association was found between arbovirus serology and GLS. Conclusions: The findings reveal a high prevalence of positive serology for arboviruses and a significant rate of subclinical cardiac dysfunction. There was no significant association between reduced left ventricular longitudinal strain and positive arbovirus serology, likely due to the limited number of participants with indications of acute contact with the viruses studied. However, the unprecedented and relevant results of this study are noteworthy, as they address critical public health issues, particularly in vulnerable populations. Further research is needed to explore these findings in more depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a reduction in vaccination coverage of children and adolescents was observed in several countries. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the pandemic, in the first two years, on human rotavirus vaccine (HRV) coverage in Brazil compared with previous years. The number of doses of HRV administered in the period from January 2015 to December 2021 and its annual vaccination coverage were analyzed. The vaccination coverage decreased to 77.3% in 2020 and to 70.4% in 2021, substantially lower than the minimum that would be expected (89.2%); the decline was more pronounced in the second year of the pandemic despite the fact that in this period, the circulation restrictions were already less tight. Of the five Brazilian macro-regions, the northeast had the largest decline, and the south had the smallest impact on coverage. At the municipal level, less than half of the Brazilian municipalities managed to achieve vaccination coverage above 90% in either pandemic year. Although there was already a downward trend in coverage in the pre-pandemic years, the present study shows that the values recorded in 2020 and 2021 were significantly lower. Monitoring of vaccination coverage in the coming years should be carried out continuously in order to avoid a possible resurgence of rotavirus-induced diarrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis verrucosa cutis is a rare clinical form of cutaneous tuberculosis resulting from the inoculation of I Mycobacterium tuberculosis i into the skin of previously infected patients.3,5 We described here an unusual case of cutaneous tuberculosis in a patient without comorbidities or immunosuppressive conditions, contrasting the apparent initial conditioning of the manifestation of tuberculosis only in these cases. Usually, these tests are only offered to municipalities previously selected by epidemiological and operational criteria.1,2 In the present report, the diagnosis was made based on histopathological evaluation, in which the presence of alcohol-acid-resistant bacilli and characteristic findings of cutaneous tuberculosis (tuberculosis verrucosa cutis) were observed. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Infectious and parasitic diseases (IPDs) encompass a broad range of illnesses predominantly associated with poverty. They are more prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, including Brazil, where they continue to be among the leading causes of mortality., Objective: This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of mortality due to IPDs in Brazil from 2000 to 2019., Methods: We conducted an ecological study using data on mortality by IPDs from the Brazilian Mortality Information System. We applied the segmented log-linear regression model to assess temporal trends. For spatial analysis, we used the local empirical Bayesian estimator and Moran indices. Retrospective spatiotemporal scan statistics were performed using the Poisson Probability Distribution Model., Results: Between 2000 and 2019, there were 2,155,513 deaths related to IPDs in Brazil. The leading causes of death included acute respiratory infections ( n  = 1,130,069; 52.49%), septicemia ( n  = 289,817; 13.46%), human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( n  = 232,892; 10.82%), tuberculosis ( n  = 104,121; 4.84%), and neglected tropical diseases such as Chagas disease ( n  = 94,788; 4.40%) and schistosomiasis ( n  = 10,272; 0.48%). An increasing temporal trend in the mortality rate from IPDs was observed in Brazil and across all its regions. Additionally, our spatiotemporal scan identified high-risk clusters of death in the Southeast and Northeast regions., Conclusion: Mortality from IPDs remains a significant public health concern in Brazil, with an increasing trend observed in all regions. Our findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive intersectoral public policies. These policies should focus on a greater allocation of resources and investments in the most critical areas, aiming to significantly reduce the number of deaths, particularly in the most vulnerable regions., (© The Author(s), 2025.)

Background: In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the "post-2015 End TB strategy", that aims to end the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic by 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted global public health and the strict measures to control the coronavirus spread can affect the management of other diseases, such as TB. Herein, we aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of TB in Brazil, during 2020. Methods: We carried out an ecological and population-based study, using spatial analysis techniques. The variables used were the new cases of TB, pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), and also baciloscopy-positive (BP) cases in Brazil between 2015 and 2020. The percentage of changes (% change) was calculated to verify if there was an increase or decrease of TB cases in 2020, along with time trend analyses given by Joinpoint regression model. Also, interrupted time series analyses were used to assess the trend of TB diagnosis before and after the onset of the COVID-19 in Brazil. Spatial distribution maps were elaborated, considering the % change of each Brazilian state. Findings: Data analyses showed a reduction in the diagnosis of TB (-8.3%) and PTB (-8.1%) in Brazil after the irruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, 22 states depicted a reduction in TB diagnosis. An expressive reduction of BP cases (-17.1%) was also observed. Interestingly, interrupted time series analysis showed decline in TB and PTB diagnoses from March 2020. Spatial analyses revealed that all states had a progressive reduction of TB, PTB and PB cases, from March on, with the highest percentages of reduction in December (-100% to -75%). Interpretation: Taken together, our analyses demonstrated a reduction in TB diagnosis after the irruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and its regions, signaling a serious impact on the WHO "End TB Strategy" global plan., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Souza, Paz, Sales, Jesus, Tavares, Lima, Sousa, Melo, Carmo, Souza and Bezerra-Santos.)