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Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death amongst adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The lifetime risk of tuberculosis disease for a person with latent infection is estimated at 5-10% with most cases occurring within five years of initial infection. The World Health Organization recommends isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for latent tuberculosis treatment, amongst other strategies. The aim was to assess tuberculosis incidence, survival (free of tuberculosis) and associated factors in HIV-positive patients. IPT was offered to participants with a positive (≥5mm) tuberculin skin test. Participants were followed from February 2003-December 2016. Kaplan-Meier was used for survival analysis. Variables with p-value ≤ 0.2 in the univariate analysis entered into the multivariate Cox-Model, keeping those with p-value ≤ 0.05. The 95% confidence interval of incidence of tuberculosis was estimated using Poisson distribution. One hundred nineteen patients completed the IPT and were followed for a median duration of 110.7 months (IQR 93.1-121.0). The probability of developing tuberculosis (10 years post-IPT) was 5.4%. Tuberculosis incidence was 0.58/100 patient/years (CI 95% 0.213-1.264). IPT over 6 months provided long-term protection against tuberculosis. AIDS-defining illness was the only statistically significant variable (HR=5.67) in the multivariate model.KEY WORDS: Latent tuberculosis; HIV; isoniazid; survival analysis.

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text., Background: Pregnant women using antiretrovirals (ARVs) may have persistent vaginal viral shedding, which could be associated with sexual and perinatal HIV transmission. However, there are scant data on vaginal viral load (VVL) in pregnant women with undetectable plasma viral load (PVL). Methods: This study was a post hoc analysis of an open-label randomized trial to evaluate the virologic response of 2 ART regimens. The participants were ART-naive women living with HIV initiating ART regimens between 20 and 36 weeks of pregnancy recruited at 19 clinical sites in 6 countries. Participants were randomized to receive 400 mg of raltegravir 2 times a day or 600 mg of efavirenz 4 times a day in addition to 150 mg of lamivudine and 300 mg of zidovudine 2 times a day. VVL and PVL tests were performed at every study visit. The primary outcome measures were HIV-1 PVL and VVL at maternal study week 4 and rates of perinatal HIV transmission. Results: A total of 408 were enrolled, of whom 323 had VVL samples 4 weeks after enrollment and were included in this analysis. Among women with undetectable/nonquantifiable PVL during ART, the overall rate of quantifiable VVL at week 4 was 2.54% (7/275). Of the 275 with nonquantifiable PVL, 99.1% (115/116) and 96.2% (153/159) had nonquantifiable VVL in the efavirenz and raltegravir arms, respectively. None of the 7 women with quantifiable VVL at the week 4 study visit transmitted HIV to their infants. Conclusions: Detectable VVL in pregnant women with undetectable/nonquantifiable PVL while receiving ART was rare and not associated with perinatal HIV transmission.

BackgroundAlthough antiretroviral regimens containing integrase inhibitors rapidly suppress HIV viral load in non-pregnant adults, few published data from randomised controlled trials have compared the safety and efficacy of any integrase inhibitor to efavirenz when initiated during pregnancy. We compared safety and efficacy of antiretroviral therapy with either raltegravir or efavirenz in late pregnancy.MethodsAn open-label, randomised controlled trial was done at 19 hospitals and clinics in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, and the USA. Antiretroviral-naive pregnant women (20

There are some reports and case series addressing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections during pregnancy in upper income countries, but there are few data on pregnant women with comorbid conditions in low and middle income Countries. This study evaluated the proportion and the maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women with comorbidities. Participants were recruited consecutively in order of admission to a maternity for pregnant women with comorbidities. Sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory data were prospectively collected during hospitalization. Pregnant women were screened at entry: nasopharyngeal swabs were tested by RT-PCR, serum samples were tested for IgG antibodies against spike protein by ELISA. From April to June 2020, 115 eligible women were included in the study. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 28.7%. The rate of obesity was 60.9%, vascular hypertension 40.0%, and HIV 21.7%. The most common clinical presentations were ageusia (21.2%), anosmia (18.2%), and fever (18.2%). Prematurity was higher among mothers who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection based on RT-PCR. There were two cases of fetal demise. We found a high proportion of COVID-19 among pregnant women with comorbidities. This underscores the importance of antenatal care during the pandemic to implement universal SARS-CoV-2 screening, precautionary measures, and the rollout of vaccination programs for pregnant women.

Few studies have compared the clinical efficacy and adverse events of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) regimens in pregnant women seeking obstetrical care. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy (virus load response), adverse events, and obstetrical and neonatal outcomes of three different regimens of cART in HIV-infected pregnant women initiating treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was a retrospective cohort study of cART-naive pregnant women who initiated either ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (atazanavir or lopinavir), efavirenz, or raltegravir plus a backbone regimen. From 2014 to 2018, 390 pregnant women were followed over time. At baseline, the median viral load (VL) for HIV was 4.1 log copies/ml. Among participants who received cART for 2 to 7 weeks, the VL decline was greater for raltegravir (2.24 log copies/ml) than for efavirenz or protease inhibitors (P < 0.001). Virologic suppression was achieved in 87% of women on raltegravir near delivery versus 73% on efavirenz and 70% on protease inhibitors (P = 0.011). Patients on raltegravir achieved virologic suppression faster than those on other regimens (P = 0.019). Overall, the HIV perinatal infection rate was 1.5%. This clinical study compared three potent and well-tolerated cART regimens and demonstrated that a higher proportion of participants on raltegravir achieved an undetectable HIV VL near delivery (P = 0.011) compared to the other arms. These findings suggest that raltegravir-containing regimens are optimal regimens for women with HIV initiating treatment late in pregnancy.

Introduction Animal assisted interventions (AAI) have been used in different contexts including oncology/palliative care and can improve mood, quality of life and wellness. The goal of this review was to evaluate studies about AAI and its effects on oncological/palliative care patients. Methods The search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus and Lilacs databases. The inclusion criteria were original articles that measured quantitatively the health-related outcomes of an AAI on oncological/palliative care patients. Results Ten studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Benefits related to the AAI were described. Mood, pain perception and quality of life seemed to be the variables that had improvement with the intervention. Due to the small sample sizes/heterogeneous methodologies, additional analyses could not be performed. Conclusions AAI can be an important tool for improving psychosocial/physiological parameters in cancer/palliative care patients. Further well designed studies are needed to provide a better knowledge of the AAI benefits in this setting.

This paper focuses on our research and intervention in health promotion with patients and communities affected by various infectious diseases, in the project Knowledge-Sharing Platform. This project is developed at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Evandro Chagas in the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and promotes the continuing involvement of health researchers and professionals in the collaborative production of knowledge on health with patients and community groups and in their training as community health promoters. The new epidemic scenario created the demand for a space of dialogue and knowledge-sharing on the prevention of COVID-19 transmission. Due to the interruption of regular activities in the Knowledge-Sharing Platform, a strategy was launched to serve as a link between science and society and help overcome the social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The WhatsApp group allowed project members to participate by addressing questions (audio) on COVID-19 through mediation by community group leaders. The main questions by participants related to risk factors, transmission, immunity to the novel coronavirus, care related to prevention, symptoms, and treatment; and COVID-19 and influenza vaccine. The educational material Caring in the Age of COVID-19 was produced and shared with community leaders and distributed to the respective groups and was eventually shared in their communities as a response to a demand for knowledge that responds to the concerns of people already exposed to structural vulnerability.Esta comunicação é centrada na nossa pesquisa e intervenção em promoção da saúde com pacientes e comunidades afetadas por diversas doenças infecciosas, no projeto Plataforma de Saberes. Esse projeto é desenvolvido no Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, e promove o envolvimento continuado de pesquisadores e profissionais de saúde na produção colaborativa de conhecimento sobre saúde com pacientes e grupos comunitários, e na sua capacitação como promotores de saúde comunitária. Face ao novo cenário epidêmico, surgiu a demanda de um espaço de diálogo e partilha de conhecimento sobre prevenção da transmissão da COVID-19. Devido à interrupção das atividades regulares do Plataforma de Saberes, foi promovida uma estratégia que servisse de elo integrador entre ciência e sociedade e ajudasse a superar o isolamento social imposto pela pandemia da COVID-19. O grupo de WhatsApp possibilitou aos integrantes do projeto participarem por meio de formulação de perguntas (áudio) sobre a COVID-19, por intermédio da mediação dos líderes de grupos comunitários. Os principais questionamentos dos participantes estão relacionados com fatores de risco; formas de transmissão; imunidade ao novo vírus; cuidados relacionados à prevenção, sintomas e tratamento; COVID-19 e vacina da influenza. O material educativo Cuidar em tempos da COVID-19 foi produzido e compartilhado com os líderes comunitários e disponibilizado aos respectivos grupos, e veio a ser disseminado nas suas comunidades como resposta a uma demanda de conhecimento que responde às preocupações vividas pelos que já se encontram em situação de vulnerabilidade estrutural.Esta comunicación se centra en nuestra investigación e intervención en la promoción de la salud con pacientes y comunidades afectadas por diversas enfermedades infecciosas, en el proyecto Plataforma de Saberes. Este proyecto está desarrollado en el Instituto Nacional de Infectología Evandro Chagas/Fundación Oswaldo Cruz, en Río de Janeiro, Brasil, y promueve la implicación continuada de investigadores y profesionales de salud en la producción colaborativa de conocimiento sobre salud con pacientes y grupos comunitarios, y en su capacitación como promotores de salud comunitaria. Frente al nuevo escenario epidémico, surgió la demanda de un espacio de diálogo e intercambio de conocimiento sobre la prevención de la transmisión de la COVID-19. Debido a la interrupción de las actividades regulares de la Plataforma de Saberes, se promovió una estrategia que sirviese de vínculo integrador entre ciencia y sociedad y ayudase a superar el aislamiento social impuesto por la pandemia de la COVID-19. El grupo de WhatsApp posibilitó a los integrantes del proyecto, que participaran mediante la formulación de preguntas (audio) sobre la COVID-19, a través de la mediación de los líderes de grupos comunitarios. Los principales cuestionamientos de los participantes se relacionaron con factores de riesgo; formas de transmisión; inmunidad ante el nuevo virus; cuidados relacionados con la prevención, síntomas y tratamiento; COVID-19 y vacuna de la gripe. El material educativo Cuidar em tempos da COVID-19 se produjo y se compartió con los líderes comunitarios y fue puesto a disposición de los respectivos grupos, así como difundido en sus comunidades, en respuesta a una demanda de conocimiento que responde a las preocupaciones vividas por los que ya se encuentran en situación de vulnerabilidad estructural.

Despite the investment in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, there is still little data about the proportion of women that are retained in treatment after pregnancy in Brazil. Research worldwide shows that a significant proportion of women drop out of treatment after pregnancy. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with treatment dropout of women that received prenatal care at a federal hospital in Rio de Janeiro between 2016 and 2017 and abandoned treatment after pregnancy. This was a retrospective cohort study using data on prescription refills and hospital medical records. Cross-sectional analysis of data from 454 women showed that 18% were not on cART after pregnancy. Illicit drug use during pregnancy, being less than 35 years old, and being aware of HIV diagnosis before conceiving but not taking cART were factors associated with treatment interruption postpartum. The high prevalence of interruption of HIV treatment after pregnancy suggests that there is a need for better post-natal care to increase adherence in this population.

There are limited data regarding Xpert performance to detect Group B Streptococcus (GBS) in HIV-infected pregnant women. We evaluated the accuracy of a rapid real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in a cohort of HIV-infected women.At 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, a pair of combined rectovaginal swabs were collected for two GBS assays in a cohort of sequentially included HIV-infected women in Rio de Janeiro: (1) culture; and (2) real-time PCR assay [GeneXpert GBS (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA)]. Using culture as the reference, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative-likelihood ratios were estimated.From June 2012 to February 2015, 337 pregnant women met inclusion criteria. One woman was later excluded, due to failure to obtain a result in the index test; 336 were included in the analyses. The GBS colonization rate was 19.04%. Sensitivity and specificity of the GeneXpert GBS assay were 85.94% (95% CI: 75.38-92.42) and 94.85% (95% CI: 91.55-96.91), respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 79.71% (95% CI: 68.78-87.51) and 96.63% (95% CI: 93.72-98.22), respectively.GeneXpert GBS is an acceptable test for the identification of GBS colonization in HIV-infected pregnant women and represents a reasonable option to detect GBS colonization in settings where culture is not feasible.

Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Infectious Diseases Department. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Gen?tica. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Infectious Diseases Department. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil / Funda??o Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Infectious Diseases Department. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil / Funda??o Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Gen?tica. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Gen?tica. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biof?sica Carlos Chagas Filho. Laborat?rio de Gen?mica Estrutural. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biof?sica Carlos Chagas Filho. Laborat?rio de Gen?mica Estrutural. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Gen?tica. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil. Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Infectious Diseases Department. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Maternal-Fetal Unit. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. University of California at San Francisco. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. San Francisco, California, United States of America. BACKGROUND: Zika virus (ZIKV) was first isolated in Uganda in 1947. In Brazil, the first reported case of ZIKV infection was in May 2015. Additionally, dengue (DENV) is endemic and there has been a recent outbreak of chikungunya (CHIKV). Since the clinical manifestations of different arboviral infections (AI) can be similar, definitive diagnosis requires laboratory testing. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of ZIKV, DENV, and CHIKV infections in a Brazilian cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women, to assess clinical/immunological characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of women with evidence of recent AI. STUDY DESIGN: Laboratory diagnosis of ZIKV, DENV and CHIKV infections utilized serological assays, RT-PCR and PRNT. The tests were performed at the first visit, 34-36 weeks of gestation and at any time if a woman had symptoms suggestive of AI. Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison of medians, Chi-square or Fisher's to compare proportions; p< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Poisson regression was used to analyze risk factors for central nervous system (CNS) malformations in the infant according to maternal symptomatology. RESULTS: Of 219 HIV-infected pregnant women enrolled, 92% were DENV IgG+; 47(22%) had laboratory evidence of recent AI. Of these, 34 (72%) were ZIKV+, nine (19%) CHIKV+, and two (4%) DENV+. Symptoms consistent with AI were observed in 23 (10%) women, of whom 10 (43%) were ZIKV+, eight (35%) CHIKV+. No CNS abnormalities were observed among infants of DENV+ or CHIKV+ women; four infants with CNS abnormalities were born to ZIKV+ women (three symptomatic). Infants born to ZIKV+ women had a higher risk of CNS malformations if the mother was symptomatic (RR = 7.20), albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: Among HIV-infected pregnant women with laboratory evidence of a recent AI, 72% were ZIKV-infected. In this cohort, CNS malformations occurred among infants born to both symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women with Zika infection.

We describe a case of Zika virus infection acquired during the first trimester in a HIV-infected pregnant woman that led to multiple fetal malformations and fetal demise in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Our objective was to describe viral suppression and antiretroviral (ARV) resistance mutations in an ongoing cohort of perinatally-infected HIV+ (PHIV+) pregnant women. Descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0. From 2011 to 2014, we followed 22 PHIV+ pregnant women. Median age at prenatal entry was 19 years (Interquartile range (IQR) 17.6–21.0); 86% had an AIDS diagnosis; 81% had disclosed their HIV status to partner 11. The median age at HIV diagnosis was 8.3 y (IQR 4.0–13.6), the median age at sexual debut was 16 years (IQR 14–18). At the time of prenatal care initiation, four (18%) were on their first antiretroviral treatment (ART), eight (36%) in their second regimen and nine (41%) in their third regimen or beyond, and one had no data. Seventeen of 22 (77%) had HIV-viral load (VL) > 50 copies/mL at prenatal care entry, 16 had a genotyping exam performed. Seventeen of 22 PHIV+ had VL results near delivery: 7/17 (41%) had VL < 50 copies/mL. Among those who had genotyping at prenatal entry, 11/16 (69%) had mutations associated with ARV resistance. The most frequent major mutations were K103N, M184V, T215, M41L, D67N at reverse transcriptase gene and M46, I54V and V82A at protease gene. No vertical transmissions occurred. Management of pregnancy among PHIV+ is challenging. Individualized ART are needed to achieve viral suppression in a highly ART-exposed subpopulation.

In order to understand antiretroviral resistance during pregnancy and its impact on HIV vertical transmission, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of 231 HIV-infected pregnant women who fulfilled Brazilian guidelines for antiretroviral testing and had antiretroviral genotypic testing performed between April 2010 and October 2012. At entry into prenatal care, the mean CD4 cell count for this cohort of patients was 406 cells/mm3 (95% CI: 373–438 cells/mm3), while the mean HIV RNA was 24,394 copies/ml (95% CI: 18,275–30,513 copies/ml). Thirty-six women (16%) had detectable antiretroviral-resistant mutations. By 34 weeks gestation, 75% had achieved HIV RNA 3 was eight times that of subjects with CD4 cell counts >500 CD4 cells/mm3 (95% CI 1.5–42.73). Six infants were HIV infected, four born to mothers with detectable viraemia at 34 weeks and two born to mothers who were lost to follow up. Antiretroviral resistance is common in prenatal care but did not increase vertical transmission if viral load was appropriately suppressed. Genotyping should be considered in Brazil in order to assist initiation of appropriate combination antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy to suppress viral load to avoid vertical transmission.

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a self limited condition characterized by fever, lymph node enlargement and less often eye involvement. Central nervous system involvement by Bartonella henselae infection is possibly an important cause of morbidity; its role as an agent of aseptic meningitis is unknown. We report a case of a 40 years-old man with CSD accompanied by aseptic meningitis and neuroretinitis. Serum indirect immmunofluorescence (IFI) assays for B. henselae were positive and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed mononuclear pleocytosis and increased level of protein. Serological tests for other etiologies were negative. The patient responded well to antibiotic therapy with oral doxycicline plus rifampin and in the 12th day of hospitalization evolved to total regression of the headache and partial regression of the visual loss. Clinicians should consider CSD as a differential diagnosis when assessing previously healthy patients with aseptic meningitis associated with regional lymphadenopathy and epidemiological history of feline contact.