Occurrence of hepatitis B and C virus infection in socioeconomic population strata from Recife, Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil.

Objective: To estimate the probability of infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses in different socioeconomic strata of the population of Recife, Northeast Brazil.

Methods: Study carried out from samples obtained in a survey of residents of a large urban center that had a population base and stratified sampling with random selection of households using the "Brazil Sample" package in the R software. HBV (HBsAg) and anti-HCV was performed using immunochromatographic tests.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of frontline healthcare workers in a highly affected region in Brazil.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs), especially in low and middle-income countries, which had to face additional political, social, and economic challenges. We thus aimed to assess the prevalence of mental health outcomes and the associated factors in HCWs treating COVID-19 patients in one of the most affected regions in Brazil.

Methods: We used the Respondent-Driven Sampling method to assess the risks of COVID-19 infection and symptoms of mental disorders in nurses, nursing technicians, and physicians who worked on the frontline in the metropolitan region of Recife.

Characteristics of children of the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pediatric Cohort who developed postnatal microcephaly.

The number of studies published on postnatal microcephaly in children with Congenital Zika Syndrome is small, clinical presentations vary and aspects of the evolution of these children remain unclarified. The present case series examined clinical characteristics and assessed the growth velocity of the head circumference, weight and height Z-scores in 23 children who developed postnatal microcephaly during follow-up in the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pediatric Cohort. To estimate the change in the head circumference, weight and height Z-scores over time and compare the mean difference between sexes, we used multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions with child-specific random effects.

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among front-line healthcare workers in Northeast Brazil: a respondent-driven sampling approach.

Objectives: We assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages and occurrence of biological accidents among front-line healthcare workers (HCW).

Design, Setting And Participants: Using respondent-driven sampling, the study recruited distinct categories of HCW attending suspected or confirmed patients with COVID-19 from May 2020 to February 2021, in the Recife metropolitan area, Northeast Brazil.

Outcome Measures: The criterion to assess SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCW was a positive self-reported PCR test.

COVID-19 in northeast Brazil: first year of the pandemic and uncertainties to come.

Objective: To analyze the epidemic of COVID-19 in northeastern Brazil, one of the regions most affected by the virus.

Methods: The official data for COVID-19, from March 2020 to March 2021 in the states of the Northeast Region (NE), were used. The analysis of capital cities and states for accumulated weekly cases and confirmed deaths was made using the JoinPoint Trend Analysis application.

[Covid-19 in the Northeast of Brazil: from lockdown to the relaxation of social distancing measures].

Even in the period when the Covid-19 pandemic was on the rise in the Northeast of Brazil, the relaxation of social distancing measures was introduced. The scope of the study is to assess, in the light of the epidemiological-sanitary situation in the region, the suitability of relaxation of social distancing measures. Based on the WHO guidelines for relaxation of social distancing, operational indicators were created and analyzed for each guideline in the context of the Northeast.

Zika-related adverse outcomes in a cohort of pregnant women with rash in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Background: While Zika virus (ZIKV) is now widely recognized as a teratogen, the frequency and full spectrum of adverse outcomes of congenital ZIKV infection remains incompletely understood.

Methods: Participants in the MERG cohort of pregnant women with rash, recruited from the surveillance system from December/2015-June/2017. Exposure definition was based on a combination of longitudinal data from molecular, serologic (IgM and IgG3) and plaque reduction neutralization tests for ZIKV.

Guillain-Barré syndrome during the Zika virus outbreak in Northeast Brazil: An observational cohort study.

Objective: To determine the clinical phenotype of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, the anti-glycolipid antibody signature, and the role of other circulating arthropod-borne viruses, we describe a cohort of GBS patients identified during ZIKV and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreaks in Northeast Brazil.

Methods: We prospectively recruited GBS patients from a regional neurology center in Northeast Brazil between December 2014 and February 2017. Serum and CSF were tested for ZIKV, CHIKV, and dengue virus (DENV), by RT-PCR and antibodies, and serum was tested for GBS-associated antibodies to glycolipids.

The first hundred days of COVID-19 in Pernambuco State, Brazil: epidemiology in historical context.

The timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic began on December 31, 2019, in China, with SARS-CoV-2 identified as the etiological agent. This article aims to describe the COVID-19 epidemic's spatial and temporal dynamics in the first hundred days in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. We present the evolution in cases and deaths according to epidemiological weeks.

COVID-19 in Northeast Brazil: achievements and limitations in the responses of the state governments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been most severe in the poorest regions of Brazil, such as the states of the Northeast Region. The lack of national policies for pandemic control forced state and municipal authorities to implement public health measures. The aim of this study is to show the effect of these measures on the epidemic.

Neurological disease in adults with Zika and chikungunya virus infection in Northeast Brazil: a prospective observational study.

Background: Since 2015, the arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) Zika and chikungunya have spread across the Americas causing outbreaks, accompanied by increases in immune-mediated and infectious neurological disease. The spectrum of neurological manifestations linked to these viruses, and the importance of dual infection, are not known fully. We aimed to investigate whether neurological presentations differed according to the infecting arbovirus, and whether patients with dual infection had a different disease spectrum or severity.

Zika virus infection in pregnancy: Establishing a case definition for clinical research on pregnant women with rash in an active transmission setting.

Defining cases of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is a critical challenge for epidemiological research. Due to ZIKV's overlapping clinical features and potential immunologic cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses and the current lack of an optimal ZIKV-specific diagnostic assay, varying approaches for identifying ZIKV infections have been employed to date. This paper presents the laboratory results and diagnostic criteria developed by the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group for defining cases of maternal ZIKV infection in a cohort of pregnant women with rash (N = 694) recruited during the declining 2015-2017 epidemic in northeast Brazil.

Survival and risk factors for mortality in pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia in a single reference center in low-middle-income country.

Despite advances in therapy and care for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), survival rates for children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain poor. We studied risk factors for mortality and survival in children with AML in a LMIC to develop strategies to improve survival for AML children in these countries. This retrospective cohort (2000-2014) analyzed newly diagnosed AML patients (age < 19 years) at a reference center in Brazil.

The microcephaly epidemic and Zika virus: building knowledge in epidemiology.

In August 2015, pediatric neurologists at public hospitals in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil, observed an increase in the number of disproportional microcephaly cases associated with other congenital anomalies. The fact caused social commotion and mobilization of the academic community and led the Brazilian Ministry of Health to declare a national public health emergency, followed by the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization. The hypothesis for the phenomenon was congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, based on spatial-temporal correlation and the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of the two epidemics.

Factors associated with underreporting of tuberculosis based on data from Sinan Aids and Sinan TB.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world's major public health problems. Epidemiological surveillance has proved to be an important tool to assist in the control and prevention of communicable diseases such as TB and AIDS. This study aimed to estimate the rate and factors associated with the underreporting of TB among cases of coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS in the state of Pernambuco, based on data from the TB and Aids Notifiable Diseases Information System (Sinan TB and Sinan AIDS).

Microcephaly epidemic related to the Zika virus and living conditions in Recife, Northeast Brazil.

Background: Starting in August 2015, there was an increase in the number of cases of neonatal microcephaly in Northeast Brazil. These findings were identified as being an epidemic of microcephaly related to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. The present study aims to analyse the spatial distribution of microcephaly cases in Recife (2015-2016), which is in Northeast Brazil, and its association with the living conditions in this city.

Association between microcephaly, Zika virus infection, and other risk factors in Brazil: final report of a case-control study.

Background: A Zika virus epidemic emerged in northeast Brazil in 2015 and was followed by a striking increase in congenital microcephaly cases, triggering a declaration of an international public health emergency. This is the final report of the first case-control study evaluating the potential causes of microcephaly: congenital Zika virus infection, vaccines, and larvicides. The published preliminary report suggested a strong association between microcephaly and congenital Zika virus infection.

Use of the Coding Causes of Death in HIV in the classification of deaths in Northeastern Brazil.

Objective: Describe the coding process of death causes for people living with HIV/AIDS, and classify deaths as related or unrelated to immunodeficiency by applying the Coding Causes of Death in HIV (CoDe) system.

Methods: A cross-sectional study that codifies and classifies the causes of deaths occurring in a cohort of 2,372 people living with HIV/AIDS, monitored between 2007 and 2012, in two specialized HIV care services in Pernambuco. The causes of death already codified according to the International Classification of Diseases were recoded and classified as deaths related and unrelated to immunodeficiency by the CoDe system.

Incidence and survival of childhood leukemia in Recife, Brazil: A population-based analysis.

Background: Leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer with incidence rates of around 48 per million for children under 15 years of age. The median age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) in children aged 0-14 years in Brazil is 53.3 per million.