Prevalence and risk factors for long COVID after mild disease: A cohort study with a symptomatic control group.

Background: There is limited data on the prevalence and risk factors for long COVID and few prospective studies with appropriate control groups and adequate sample sizes. We performed a prospective study to determine the prevalence and risk factors for long COVID.

Methods: We recruited individuals aged ≥15 years who were clinically suspected of having an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection from September 2020 to April 2021.

Elevated IL-18 predicts poor prognosis in critically ill COVID-19 patients at a Brazilian hospital in 2020-21.

A dysregulated inflammatory response contributes to decline in patients with COVID-19. This cross-sectional study evaluated biomarkers of unvaccinated patients admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Fortaleza, Brazil. Twenty cytokines were quantified upon hospital admission; clinical and laboratory data were analyzed, as well as sociodemographic data, to search for an association with clinical outcomes, including fatal (n = 40) or recovered cases (n = 38).

Hydrocephalus associated to congenital Zika syndrome: does shunting improve clinical features?

Purpose: Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) is a new entity with little information about its course and natural history. It is known that prenatal infection by Zika virus is associated to disrupted nervous system development, leading to typical neurological disabilities and deformities. Some children present progressive ventriculomegaly and hydrocephalus associated to aggravation of seizures and neurological impairment.

Analysis of the seroprevalence of and factors associated with Chagas disease in an endemic area in Northeastern Brazil.

Introduction:: Chagas disease (CD) is currently considered a neglected disease; hence, identifying the factors associated with its high prevalence is essential. This study aimed to identify the seroprevalence of and the possible factors associated with CD in inhabitants of the City of Limoeiro do Norte, Northeastern Brazil.

Methods:: Between April and November 2013, blood collection was conducted and a semi-structured questionnaire was administered.

Changes in infestation sites of female Aedes aegypti in Northeast Brazil.

Introduction: We report the behavioral changes in use of oviposition sites in Aedes aegypti in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Methods: We evaluated the relationship between different types of breeding sites and changes in use from 2001 to 2012.

Results: More than 40% of the infested breeding sites were used to store water.

Coinfection with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and dengue virus in fatal cases.

We report on four patients with fatal influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and dengue virus coinfections. Clinical, necropsy and histopathologic findings presented in all cases were characteristic of influenza-dengue coinfections, and all were laboratory-confirmed for both infections. The possibility of influenza and dengue coinfection should be considered in locations where these two viruses' epidemic periods coincide to avoid fatal outcomes.

Evaluation of the World Health Organization 2009 classification of dengue severity in autopsied individuals, during the epidemics of 2011 and 2012 in Brazil.

Introduction: The dengue classification proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009 is considered more sensitive than the classification proposed by the WHO in 1997. However, no study has assessed the ability of the WHO 2009 classification to identify dengue deaths among autopsied individuals suspected of having dengue. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of the WHO 2009 classification to identify dengue deaths among autopsied individuals suspected of having dengue in Northeast Brazil, where the disease is endemic.

A NEW POSSIBILITY FOR SURVEILLANCE: DO WE IDENTIFY ALL CASES OF LEPTOSPIROSIS?

Leptospirosis is a febrile disease with a typically underestimated global incidence, especially in regions where dengue is endemic. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately determine the number of leptospirosis cases in these areas, which contributes to significant under-reporting this disease. In this study, we estimated the number of possible leptospirosis cases among dengue-like cases that were reported during 2008, 2010, and 2012 in the city of Fortaleza, northeast Brazil.

PREVALENCE OF CHAGAS DISEASE IN A RURAL AREA IN THE STATE OF CEARA, BRAZIL.

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and affects about two to three million people in Brazil, still figuring as an important public health problem. A study was conducted in a rural area of the municipality of Limoeiro do Norte - CE, northeastern Brazil, aiming to determine the prevalence of T. cruzi infection.

Postmortem Diagnosis of Dengue as an Epidemiological Surveillance Tool.

Dengue remains a problem in Brazil, and a substantial number of cases that progress to death are not diagnosed by health services. We evaluated the impact of a protocol adopted by the Coroner's Office Rocha Furtado (CO-RF) for the detection of unreported deaths from dengue in Brazil. We evaluated prospectively cases of deaths referred to the CO-RF with suspicion of dengue and those referred with other diagnosis in which the pathologists suspected dengue as the cause of death.

Post-pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus infection in pregnant women in Ceará, Brazil.

Objective: The aim of this study was to present results of the post-pandemic phase of A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection in pregnant women in Ceará, Brazil, during the January-June 2012 influenza season.

Results: One hundred and fifty-four nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from pregnant women admitted to hospitals with suspected severe acute respiratory infection (SARI). Fifty-three (34·4%) had laboratory-confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection with 15 (28·3%) outpatients and 38 (71·7%) hospitalized.

Endothelial glycocalyx damage is associated with leptospirosis acute kidney injury.

Leptospirosis is a common disease in tropical countries, and the kidney is one of the main target organs. Membrane proteins of Leptospira are capable of causing endothelial damage in vitro, but there have been no studies in humans evaluating endothelial glycocalyx damage and its correlation with acute kidney injury (AKI). We performed a cohort study in an outbreak of leptospirosis among military personnel.

Domestic, peridomestic and wild hosts in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Caatinga area colonised by Triatoma brasiliensis.

The role played by different mammal species in the maintenance of Trypanosoma cruzi is not constant and varies in time and place. This study aimed to characterise the importance of domestic, wild and peridomestic hosts in the transmission of T. cruzi in Tauá, state of Ceará, Caatinga area, Brazil, with an emphasis on those environments colonised by Triatoma brasiliensis.

Survival of larvivorous fish used for biological control of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) combined with different larvicides.

Objective: To evaluate combinations of larvicides and fish which are predators of larvae of Aedes aegypti, namely Betta splendens, Trichogaster trichopterus and Poecilia reticulata.

Methods: We used 15 water tanks with a capacity of 250 litres of water. In 10 tanks, larvicide - Temephos, Bti and Novaluron - was added, the other five contained only one specimen of fish and unchlorinated water.

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.

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009: epidemiological analysis of cases in a tropical/semi-arid region of Brazil.

Introduction: The year 2009 marked the beginning of a pandemic caused by a new variant of influenza A (H1N1). After spreading through North America, the pandemic influenza virus (H1N1) 2009 spread rapidly throughout the world. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of cases of pandemic influenza in a tropical/semi-arid region of Brazil.

Severe coinfection of melioidosis and dengue fever in Northeastern Brazil: first case report.

This report focuses on a fatality involving severe dengue fever and melioidosis in a 28-year-old truck driver residing in Pacoti in northeastern Brazil. He exhibited long-term respiratory symptoms (48 days) and went through a wide-ranging clinical investigation at three hospitals, after initial clinical diagnoses of pneumonia, visceral leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, and fungal sepsis. After death, Burkholderia pseudomallei was isolated in a culture of ascitic fluid.

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.

Impact of water renewal on the residual effect of larvicides in the control of Aedes aegypti.

This study was carried out to evaluate the residual effect of three larvicides under laboratory conditions for 100 days in Aedes aegypti. The larval mortality rate was measured without water renewal or with daily water renewal (80%). With temephos, there was 100% mortality in both groups until the 70th day.

Survival of larvivorous fish used for biological control of Aedes aegypti larvae in domestic containers with different chlorine concentrations.

The two fish species Betta splendens (Regan) and Poecilia reticulata (Peters) are known predators of Aedes aegypti (L., 1762) larvae. Both species have been used for biological control in northeastern Brazil.