Chikungunya Death Risk Factors in Brazil, in 2017: A case-control study.

Background: In 2016/2017 we had a major epidemic of chikungunya (CHIK) in Brazil, with many deaths. We evaluated to factors associated with deaths from CHIK that occurred in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil.

Methods: A matched case-control study was conducted (1:2), by sex, age (± 5 years) and neighborhood.

Epidemiological burden of Chikungunya fever in Brazil, 2016 and 2017.

Objectives: To describe Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) cases and estimate the burden of the disease in Brazil between 2016 and 2017.

Methods: The first stage of this study consisted of a descriptive epidemiological study with estimations of incidence, mortality and case-fatality rates for each Brazilian state. The second stage provided estimates of the disease burden using DALY, an indicator that aggregates measures of morbidity (years lived with disability - YLD) and mortality (years of life lost - YLL) into a single value.

Field and classroom initiatives for portable sequence-based monitoring of dengue virus in Brazil.

Brazil experienced a large dengue virus (DENV) epidemic in 2019, highlighting a continuous struggle with effective control and public health preparedness. Using Oxford Nanopore sequencing, we led field and classroom initiatives for the monitoring of DENV in Brazil, generating 227 novel genome sequences of DENV1-2 from 85 municipalities (2015-2019). This equated to an over 50% increase in the number of DENV genomes from Brazil available in public databases.

Tracking excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 epidemic as an epidemiological surveillance strategy-preliminary results of the evaluation of six Brazilian capitals.

Introduction: In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic. In Brazil, 110 thousand cases and 5,901 deaths were confirmed by the end of April 2020. The scarcity of laboratory resources, the overload on the service network, and the broad clinical spectrum of the disease make it difficult to document all the deaths due to COVID-19.

Estimated mortality rate and leading causes of death among individuals with chikungunya in 2016 and 2017 in Brazil.

Introduction: In 2014, the first cases of autochthonous chikungunya (CHIK) were recorded in Brazil. Lethality associated with this disease is underestimated. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the causes of death among individuals with CHIK in Brazil.

Pharmacologic management of pain in patients with Chikungunya: a guideline.

From the arrival of Chikungunya virus in the Americas in 2013 until March 2016, approximately two million cases of the disease have been reported. In Brazil, the virus was identified in 2014 and thousands of people have been affected. The disease has high attack rates, infecting 50% of a population within a few months.

Characteristics of the first cases of microcephaly possibly related to Zika virus reported in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil.

Objective: to describe the first cases of microcephaly possibly related to Zika virus in live born babies reported in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil.

Methods: this was a descriptive case series study (cases reported between August 1st and October 31st 2015), using medical record data and data from a questionnaire answered by the mothers of the babies.

Results: 40 microcephaly cases were confirmed, distributed in eight municipalities within the Metropolitan Region, with Recife itself having the highest concentration of cases (n=12); median head circumference was 29 cm, median chest girth was 31 cm and median weight was 2,628 grams; 21/25 cases had brain calcification, ventriculomegaly or lissencephaly; 27 of the 40 mothers reported rash during pregnancy, 20 in the first trimester and 7 in the second trimester, as well as itching, headache, myalgia and absence of fever.