Epidemiological aspects of human immunodeficiency virus/tuberculosis co-infection in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil from 1998 to 2003.

Objective: This study aimed to characterize the epidemiological profile of tuberculosis cases reported in the city of Ribeirão Preto between 1998 and 2003, according to patient HIV status, gender, age bracket and treatment outcome.

Methods: This was a descriptive epidemiological study that employed the Brazilian National Tuberculosis Notification Database as an instrument of data collection. The study sample consisted of all cases of human immunodeficiency virus/tuberculosis co-infection occurring in residents of Ribeirão Preto and reported between 1998 and 2003.

Tuberculosis patients submitted to supervised treatment. Ribeirão Preto-São Paulo-Brazil. 1998 and 1999.

This study presents a survey conducted among 132 Tuberculosis patients submitted to Supervised Treatment between 01/1998 and 12/1999, with a view to describing epidemiological aspects, according to the gender, (final) treatment result and HIV immunology result variables. The number of patients covered by Supervised Treatment rose from 19% to 30%. For each of these years, 64% and 71% of the patients were male, while 89% and 77% evolved towards cure.

[Practice in epidemiologic surveillance: between the general and the specific].

This study analyses the perspectives of the organization of epidemiological surveillance (ES) in two kinds of organizations. The first is a set of undifferentiated practices; the second is a set of specific practices carried out in the local health system of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo Federal State. Both organizations are described in general terms and discussed according to the view of local health professionals and professionals of the epidemiological surveillance.

[Epidemiological surveillance and the perspective of field working -- Riberao Preto Municipal Health Secretariat].

This study aimed at analyzing the conformation of the Epidemiological Surveillance Service in Ribeirão Preto Municipal Health Secretariat under the orientation of the principles established by the Unified Health System and the perspective of Health Surveillance in face of the health care municipalization process occurring in the 1990s through the following dimensions: territory; problems; intersectoriality based on positive health concepts and on the paradigm of social health production. By means of a qualitative approach, bibliographical and documentation sources as well as 17 semi-structured interviews were used. Data were analyzed through the thematic analysis technique by which the following themes were identified: from "Monitoring" to "Educating and Preventing": practice in Epidemiological Surveillance--a proposal to work in the territory.