COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy among People Living with HIV: Review and Meta-Analysis.

This study aims to estimate the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among people living with HIV (PLWHA). A search for observational studies was conducted in five databases and preprinted literature. Summary estimates were pooled using a random effects model and meta-regression.

Chikungunya seroprevalence in population-based studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Seroprevalence studies about chikungunya infection are usually conducted after epidemics to estimate the magnitude of the attack. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of CHIKV by WHO region, considering the periods of introduction of the virus in these regions and its potential to lead to epidemics.

Methods: We systematically reviewed Medline/Pubmed, Embase, Lilacs, Scopus and Web of Science for original articles published up to 2020.

Previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19.

Background: BCG vaccination, originally used to prevent tuberculosis, is known to "train" the immune system to improve defence against viral respiratory infections. We investigated whether a previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19 METHODS: A case-control study comparing the proportion with a BCG vaccine scar (indicating previous vaccination) in cases and controls presenting with COVID-19 to health units in Brazil. Cases were subjects with severe COVID-19 (O2 saturation < 90%, severe respiratory effort, severe pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock).

Seroprevalence of Chikungunya virus and living conditions in Feira de Santana, Bahia-Brazil.

Background: Chikungunya is an arbovirus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, which emerged in the Americas in 2013 and spread rapidly to almost every country on this continent. In Brazil, where the first cases were detected in 2014, it currently has reached all regions of this country and more than 900,000 cases were reported. The clinical spectrum of chikungunya ranges from an acute self-limiting form to disabling chronic forms.

Case Fatality Rate Related to Microcephaly Congenital Zika Syndrome and Associated Factors: A Nationwide Retrospective Study in Brazil †.

Background: The clinical manifestations of microcephaly/congenital Zika syndrome (microcephaly/CZS) have harmful consequences on the child's health, increasing vulnerability to childhood morbidity and mortality. This study analyzes the case fatality rate and child-maternal characteristics of cases and deaths related to microcephaly/CZS in Brazil, 2015-2017.

Methods: Population-based study developed by linkage of three information systems.

Cross-sectional study of the anthropometric characteristics of children with congenital Zika syndrome up to 12 months of life.

Background: Little is known about physical development of children with Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS). This study aims to evaluate the anthropometric characteristics of children with CZS up to 12 months.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study developed with 46 children with CZS living in Bahia.

Repercussions of Zika virus emergency on the health of the population of Tocantins state, Brazil, 2015 and 2016: a descriptive study.

Objective To describe the occurrence of Zika virus disease and its complications in the state of Tocantins and in its capital, the city of Palmas. Methods This was a descriptive study using data from health information systems. Results Incidence of reported Zika virus disease cases in 2015 and 2016 was 295.

The need for fast-track, high-quality and low-cost studies about the role of the BCG vaccine in the fight against COVID-19.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination is routine and near-universal in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). It has been suggested that BCG can have a protective effect on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. This commentary discusses the limitations of the evidence around BCG and COVID-19.

Congenital syphilis distribution in the State of Tocantins, Brazil, 2007-2015.

Objective: to describe the epidemiological profile of congenital syphilis (CS) in Tocantins, from 2007 to 2015.

Methods: this was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted with data from the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN) and the Live Birth Information System (SINASC).

Results: 1,029 CS cases were reported; mean CS incidence was 4.

Congenital Zika Syndrome: Prevalence of low birth weight and associated factors. Bahia, 2015-2017.

Objective: The clinical manifestations of Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) are not fully known, for example its effect on birth weight. This study estimated the prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) among children with CZS, and identified associated factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 393 children with CZS living in Bahia, Brazil, in 2015-2017.

Trend in mortality due to ill-defined causes in the state of Tocantins and in its capital Palmas, Brazil, 1998-2014.

Objective: to evaluate the time trend of proportional mortality due to ill-defined causes, in Tocantins and Palmas, Brazil, 1998-2014.

Methods: this was a time trend study using data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Death Verification Service (SVO); we evaluated the time trend of this type of this mortality using Joinpoint Regression.

Results: between 1998 and 2014, proportional mortality from ill-defined causes fell 88.

Chikungunya chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease caused by an arthritogenic alphavirus, with four genotypes: East Central South African (ECSA), West African, ECSA-diverged or Indian Ocean Lineage (IOL) and Asian lineage. Overall, the disease is self-limited; however, in some patients, joint pain and other non-specific symptoms can last for months or years. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the proportion of people that self-report chikungunya-related chronic non-specific symptoms.

The achievements of the SUS in tackling the communicable diseases.

This article presents the development of the epidemiological situation of some of the major communicable diseases (CD) in Brazil, with emphasis on the interventions by the SUS and other social policies. The data and information were collected from Datasus, epidemiological newsletters from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and scientific articles on the issue. The universalization, decentralization and expansion of the surveillance, control and prevention of CD has produced an impact on the morbidity and mortality of these diseases, mainly those which are vaccine-preventable.

Seroprevalence of Chikungunya Virus after Its Emergence in Brazil.

Chikungunya has had a substantial impact on public health because of the magnitude of its epidemics and its highly debilitating symptoms. We estimated the seroprevalence, proportion of symptomatic cases, and proportion of chronic form of disease after introduction of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in 2 cities in Brazil. We conducted the population-based study through household interviews and serologic surveys during October-December 2015.

Relevance of transportation to correlations among criticality, physical means of propagation, and distribution of dengue fever cases in the state of Bahia.

Dengue infection is a public health problem with a complex distribution. The physical means of propagation and the dynamics of diffusion of the disease between municipalities need to be analysed to direct efficient public policies to prevent dengue infection. The present study presents correlations of occurrences of reported cases of dengue infection among municipalities, self-organized criticality (SOC), and transportation between areas, identifying the municipalities that play an important role in the diffusion of dengue across the state of Bahia, Brazil.

History, Epidemiology, and Clinical Manifestations of Zika: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: To describe salient epidemiological characteristics of Zika virus outbreaks across the world and to examine the clinical presentations, complications, and atypical manifestations related to their occurrence in recent history.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature by searching through MEDLINE, Embase, and Global Health Library, as well as the epidemiological bulletins and alerts from the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control over the period 1954 to 2016.

Results: The search yielded 547 records.

The spatiotemporal trajectory of a dengue epidemic in a medium-sized city.

Understanding the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases is important to allow for improvements of control measures. To investigate the spatiotemporal pattern of an epidemic dengue occurred at a medium-sized city in the Northeast Region of Brazil in 2009, we conducted an ecological study of the notified dengue cases georeferenced according to epidemiological week (EW) and home address. Kernel density estimation and space-time interaction were analysed using the Knox method.

Evaluation of preventative and control measures for congenital syphilis in State of Mato Grosso.

Introduction: Congenital syphilis is an important health problem in Brazil. This study assessed measures aimed at the prevention and control of syphilis in the State of Mato Grosso and its capital, Cuiabá.

Methods: A descriptive study cross-sectional and of time trends assessing the congenital syphilis was performed in Cuiabá and Mato Grosso between 2001 and 2011.

Prevalence of nutritional deficiency in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of nutritional deficiency among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data obtained from the Brazilian Case Registry Database and from the medical records of patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (15-59 years of age) residing in one of the municipalities that make up the 16th Regional Health District of the state of Bahia. We calculated the incidence, lethality, and mortality rates, as well as the prevalence of nutritional deficiency, as evaluated by body mass index.

Stochastic dynamics of dengue epidemics.

We use a stochastic Markovian dynamics approach to describe the spreading of vector-transmitted diseases, such as dengue, and the threshold of the disease. The coexistence space is composed of two structures representing the human and mosquito populations. The human population follows a susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) type dynamics and the mosquito population follows a susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) type dynamics.

Risk factors for the incidence of dengue virus infection in preschool children.

Objective: To estimate the seroincidence of dengue in children living in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil and to evaluate the factors associated.

Methods:   A prospective serological survey was carried out in a sample of children 0-3 years of age. A multilevel logistic model was used to identify the determinants of seroincidence.

[Progression of dengue virus circulation in the State of Bahia, Brazil, 1994-2000].

Introduction: The strength of the re-emergence of dengue virus and the severity of these infections put this disease in the priority agenda of the institutions responsible for protecting the health of populations. Important for understanding the epidemiology of dengue nowadays refers to the knowledge of the patterns of spatial-temporal diffusion, though there is few research addressing this issue. This study describes the process of dissemination of dengue in the state of Bahia, from 1994 to 2000.

Dengue: twenty-five years since reemergence in Brazil.

This article revisits the epidemiology of dengue in Brazil, 25 years after its reemergence in the country, discussing the main determinants and implications for its control. The authors emphasize the clinical and epidemiological peculiarities of this viral disease in Brazil, which leads the world in both the number of cases reported and risk of occurrence of the disease. The article presents the changes occurring in the dengue epidemiological pattern in recent years, like the sudden age shift in the incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever, and discusses possible associated factors.

Spread pattern of the first dengue epidemic in the city of Salvador, Brazil.

Background: The explosive epidemics of dengue that have been occurring in various countries have stimulated investigation into new approaches to improve understanding of the problem and to develop new strategies for controlling the disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of diffusion of the first dengue epidemic that occurred in the city of Salvador in 1995.

Methods: The epidemiological charts and records of notified cases of dengue in Salvador in 1995 constituted the source of data.