Risk of adverse outcomes in offspring with RT-PCR confirmed prenatal Zika virus exposure: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 13 cohorts in the Zika Brazilian Cohorts Consortium.

Background: Knowledge regarding the risks associated with Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in pregnancy has relied on individual studies with relatively small sample sizes and variable risk estimates of adverse outcomes, or on surveillance or routinely collected data. Using data from the Zika Brazilian Cohorts Consortium, this study aims, to estimate the risk of adverse outcomes among offspring of women with RT-PCR-confirmed ZIKV infection during pregnancy and to explore heterogeneity between studies.

Methods: We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis of the offspring of 1548 pregnant women from 13 studies, using one and two-stage meta-analyses to estimate the absolute risks.

Detection and sequencing of Zika virus in normocephalic newborns with congenital Zika infection.

Fourteen asymptomatic normocephalic newborns with confirmed congenital Zika infection were investigated. All newborns presented Zika virus (ZIKV) positivity on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Following ZIKV-specific NS5 gene fragment sequencing in one child, phylogenetic analysis revealed that this isolate belonged to the Asian genotype, and clustered closely with other sequences previously isolated in north-east and northern regions of Brazil.

Plasma lipidome profiling of newborns with antenatal exposure to Zika virus.

The 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil was remarkably linked to the incidence of microcephaly and other deleterious clinical manifestations, including eye abnormalities, in newborns. It is known that ZIKV targets the placenta, triggering an inflammatory profile that may cause placental insufficiency. Transplacental lipid transport is delicately regulated during pregnancy and deficiency on the delivery of lipids such as arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids may lead to deficits in both brain and retina during fetal development.

Untargeted Metabolomics Insights into Newborns with Congenital Zika Infection.

Zika virus (ZIKV), an emerging virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family, causes severe neurological clinical complications and has been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, fetal abnormalities known collectively as congenital Zika syndrome, and microcephaly. Studies have shown that ZIKV infection can alter cellular metabolism, directly affecting neural development. Brain growth requires controlled cellular metabolism, which is essential for cell proliferation and maturation.

Newborns With Zika Virus-Associated Microcephaly Exhibit Marked Systemic Inflammatory Imbalance.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emergent flavivirus initially considered a benign and self-limited exanthematic illness. In 2015, a new epidemic emerged in northeastern of Brazil with increased incidence of a previously rare clinical outcome, microcephaly, in newborns from mothers who were infected during pregnancy. Little is known about the immunopathogenesis of ZIKV-associated microcephaly.

Neonatal surveillance for congenital Zika infection during the 2016 microcephaly outbreak in Salvador, Brazil: Zika virus detection in asymptomatic newborns.

Objective: To identify newborns with congenital Zika infection (CZI) at a maternity hospital in Salvador, Brazil, during the 2016 microcephaly outbreak.

Methods: A prospective study enrolled microcephalic and normocephalic newborns with suspected CZI between January and December 2016. Serology (immunoglobulins IgM and IgG) and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for the Zika virus were performed.

Differences in the Prevalence of Non-Communicable Disease between Slum Dwellers and the General Population in a Large Urban Area in Brazil.

Residents of urban slums are at greater risk for disease than their non-slum dwelling urban counterparts. We sought to contrast the prevalences of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between Brazilian adults living in a slum and the general population of the same city, by comparing the age and sex-standardized prevalences of selected NCDs from a 2010 survey in Pau da Lima, Salvador Brazil, with a 2010 national population-based telephone survey. NCD prevalences in both populations were similar for hypertension (23.

Cardiovascular Disease and Health Care System Impact on Functionality and Productivity in Argentina: A Secondary Analysis.

Objectives: To examine the impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events on patient functionality and productivity on the basis of patient use of public or social/private institution health care.

Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted of data drawn from records of Argentinian patients, 3 to 15 months posthospitalization after a CVD event, who had originally participated in a multicountry, cross-sectional study assessing the microeconomic impact of a CVD event. Respondents were stratified according to their use of health care institution (public or social/private).

Epidemiology of community-acquired pneumonia in children of Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This systematic review evaluated the incidence, etiology, and use of resources in bacterial, non-tuberculosis community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in immune-competent children aged <5 years.

Methods: Systematic searches (1980-2008) were performed using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, LILACS, generic, and academic Internet searches. Regional health ministries, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), regional proceedings, doctoral theses, and the reference lists of included studies were also searched, and experts were consulted.

A cross-sectional study of the microeconomic impact of cardiovascular disease hospitalization in four low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: To estimate individual and household economic impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in selected low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Background: Empirical evidence on the microeconomic consequences of CVD in LMIC is scarce.

Methods And Findings: We surveyed 1,657 recently hospitalized CVD patients (66% male; mean age 55.

[Cost-effectiveness analysis of entecavir versus lamivudine in patients with chronic hepatitis B].

Chronic hepatitis B infection represent a significant disease burden in Argentina and worldwide. New therapeutic strategies are emerging, including entecavir, a nucleosid analogue. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of entecavir vs.