Positivity of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika infections in women in Northeast Brazil post-Zika epidemic.

The state of Ceará, in the Northeast Region of Brazil, presents the simultaneous circulation of Zika (ZIKV), dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses. In 2017 there were a high number of cases of these three arboviruses, especially CHIKV. Here, we detected the presence of arboviruses ZIKV, DENV and CHIKV and their coinfections in women in endemic regions of the city of Fortaleza, Ceará in a post-Zika epidemic year.

Hepatitis B virus genotypes prevalence in patients from hepatology services in Ceará, Brazil.

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a public health problem; therefore, we aimed to report HBV genotypes in Ceará, Brazil.

Methods: A total of 103 HBsAg-positive samples were subjected to HBV genotyping and subgenotyping.

Results: The following genetic compositions of samples were found: F-54% (F2-83.

Brazilian Protocol for Sexually Transmitted Infections 2020: acquired syphilis.

The Clinical Protocol and Therapeutic Guidelines for Comprehensive Care of People with Sexually Transmitted Infections, published by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 2020, includes updates concerning acquired syphilis. The document comprises rapid test use, safety and efficacy of benzathine benzylpenicillin, case follow-up, neurosyphilis clinical and laboratory management, approaching sex partners, assistance and monitoring of diagnosed pregnant women, and syphilis and HIV co-infection specificities, as well as a case notification summary. Health managers and professionals must be continuously trained so as to integrate care and surveillance, to strengthen actions for efficient control of syphilis, to broaden the search for sex partners, and to expand access of most vulnerable populations to health services.

[Brazilian Protocol for Sexually Transmitted Infections 2020: acquired syphilis].

The Clinical Protocol and Therapeutic Guidelines for Comprehensive Care for People with Sexually Transmitted Infections, published by the Ministry of Health of Brazil in 2020, includes the update on acquired syphilis. The document comprises rapid tests use, safety and efficacy of the administration of benzathine benzylpenicillin, follow-up of cases, clinical and laboratory management of neurosyphilis, approach to sexual partnerships, assistance and monitoring of diagnosed pregnant women, and specificities of syphilis and HIV co-infection, as well as a summary of the notification of cases. It is necessary to train health managers and professionals on a continuous basis, with a view to integrating care and surveillance, strengthening effective syphilis control actions, increasing the search for sexual partnerships, and expanding the access of the most vulnerable populations to health services.

Dengue Infection in Children in Fortaleza, Brazil: A 3-Year School-Based Prospective Cohort Study.

Dengue is endemic in Brazil. The dengue surveillance system's reliance on passive reporting may underestimate disease incidence and cannot detect asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic cases. In this 3-year prospective cohort study (NCT01391819) in 5- to 13-year-old children from nine schools in Fortaleza ( = 2,117), we assessed dengue virus (DENV) infection seroprevalence by IgG indirect ELISA at yearly visits and disease incidence through active and enhanced passive surveillance.

Trypanosoma cruzi seroprevalence among solid organ donors in Ceará State, Brazil.

Introduction: The transmission of Chagas disease (CD) through blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and oral transmission has gained greater visibility as a result of intensified vector control activities in endemic regions and to control CD in non-endemic regions. In Brazil, Ceará is one of the states that perform the most organ transplants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in organ donor candidates.

Evaluation of the WHO classification of dengue disease severity during an epidemic in 2011 in the state of Ceará, Brazil.

In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new guideline that stratifies dengue-affected patients into severe (SD) and non-severe dengue (NSD) (with or without warning signs). To evaluate the new recommendations, we completed a retrospective cross-sectional study of the dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases reported during an outbreak in 2011 in northeastern Brazil. We investigated 84 suspected DHF patients, including 45 (53.

Clinical and serological evolution in chronic Chagas disease patients in a 4-year pharmacotherapy follow-up: a preliminary study.

Introduction: The role of trypanocidal therapy in the chronic phase of Chagas disease remains controversial.

Methods: A total of 13 patients with chronic Chagas disease were treated with benznidazole (5mg/kg/day/60 days) and surveyed via antibody measurement and conventional electrocardiogram over the course of 4 years.

Results: The antibody titers were significantly reduced after 4 years (p<0.

Dengue infection in children and adolescents: clinical profile in a reference hospital in northeast Brazil.

Introduction: This study aimed to describe the clinical spectrum of dengue in children and adolescents from a hyperendemic region who were admitted for hospitalization.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on patients diagnosed with dengue infection upon admission to a reference center in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Results: Of the 84 patients included, 42 underwent confirmatory testing.

Clinical-epidemiological features of 13 cases of melioidosis in Brazil.

The aim of this work was to catalog the clinical and ecoepidemiological characteristics of melioidosis in Brazil. The clinical-epidemiological features of melioidosis in Ceará are similar to those in other regions where the disease is endemic. These findings support the inclusion of this Brazilian state as part of the zone of endemicity for melioidosis.

Multicentre prospective study on dengue classification in four South-east Asian and three Latin American countries.

Objective: To evaluate the existing WHO dengue classification across all age groups and a wide geographical range and to develop a revised evidence-based classification that would better reflect clinical severity.

Methods: We followed suspected dengue cases daily in seven countries across South-east Asia and Latin America and then categorised them into one of three intervention groups describing disease severity according to the overall level of medical and nursing support required. Using a pre-defined analysis plan, we explored the clinical and laboratory profiles characteristic of these intervention categories and presented the most promising options for a revised classification scheme to an independent group of WHO dengue experts for consideration.

Clinical and epidemiological characterization of dengue hemorrhagic fever cases in northeastern, Brazil.

Introduction: The dengue hemorrhagic dengue (DHF) remains an important public health problem in Brazil. The objective of this study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of DHF cases during the 2003 epidemic in Ceará.

Methods: Suspected DHF cases with onset of symptoms between January and December 2003 were investigated.

[Adverse reactions in Chagas disease patients treated with benznidazole, in the State of Ceará].

Introduction: Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and treated with benznidazole (BNZ). This drug has the troublesome features of presenting partial effectiveness and high toxicity ranging from hypersensitivity reactions to medullary aplasia. The objective here was to describe and evaluate the occurrence of adverse reactions in Chagas disease patients treated with benznidazole in Fortaleza, Ceará.

Enteric parasitic infections in HIV/AIDS patients before and after the highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Enteroparasites are related to gastrointestinal alterations among patients with HIV/AIDS, some causing severe manifestations in the period before the institution of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The prevalence of enteroparasitoses in patients with HIV/AIDS seen at two hospitals in Ceará , Brazil, was compared in the pre-HAART (Group 1; n = 482) and HAART (Group 2; n = 100) eras. Fecal parasitologic examinations (FPE) were performed using the direct, Lutz, Baermann-Moraes and modified Ziehl-Neelsen methods.

Concurrent infection with dengue virus type-2 and DENV-3 in a patient from Ceará, Brazil.

Dengue outbreaks have occurred in several regions in Brazil and cocirculating dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1), DENV-2, and DENV-3 have been frequently observed. Dual infection by DENV-2 and DENV-3 was identified by type-specific indirect immunofluorescence assay and confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in a patient in Ceará with a mild disease. This is the first documented case of simultaneous infection with DENV-2 and DENV-3 in Brazil.