Zika puzzle in Brazil: peculiar conditions of viral introduction and dissemination - A Review.

This article discusses the peculiar conditions that favoured the unexpected introduction of Zika virus into the poorest northeastern region of Brazil in 2015, its speed of transmission to other Brazilian states, other Latin American countries and other regions, and the severity of related neurological disorders in newborns and adults. Contrasting with evidence that Zika had so far caused only mild cases in humans in the last six decades, the epidemiological scenario of this outbreak in Brazil indicates dramatic health effects: in 2015, an increase of 20-fold in notified cases of microcephaly and/or central nervous system (CNS) alterations suggestive of Zika congenital infection, followed by an exponential increase in 2016, with 2366 cumulative cases confirmed in the country by the end of December 2016. A significant increase in Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults has also been reported.

Clinical and laboratory features that discriminate dengue from other febrile illnesses: a diagnostic accuracy study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: Dengue is an acute febrile illness caused by an arbovirus that is endemic in more than 100 countries. Early diagnosis and adequate management are critical to reduce mortality. This study aims to identify clinical and hematological features that could be useful to discriminate dengue from other febrile illnesses (OFI) up to the third day of disease.

Evaluation of polymerase chain reaction in the routine diagnosis for tegumentary leishmaniasis in a referral centre.

The present study investigated the diagnostic value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) performed in parallel to conventional methods at an American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) referral centre for diagnosis. Accuracy parameters for PCR were calculated using 130 patients with confirmed ATL (ATL group), 15 patients established with other diseases and 23 patients with a lesion suggestive of ATL, but without parasitological confirmation (NDEF group). PCR showed 92.

Visceral leishmaniasis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: eco-epidemiological aspects and control.

From 1977 (index case) to 2006, 87 cases of visceral leishmaniasis were confirmed in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in periurban areas on the continental and coastal slopes of the Pedra Branca massif and the continental slopes of the Gericinó massif. The majority (65.5%) of the patients were more than five years old, predominantly males (61.