Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells play a role in attenuating inflammation on Bothrops jararacussu venom muscle damage.

The immune system is regulated by dendritic cells (DCs), which are highly specialized cells for presenting antigens. They are thought of as natural sentinels that start the immune response triggered by naive T cells against invasive infections. DCs participate in the initial stage of muscle damage in conjunction with monocytes, macrophages, and myogenic cells.

Disentangling the influence of reservoir abundance and pathogen shedding on zoonotic spillover of the agent in urban informal settlements.

Rats are major reservoirs for pathogenic , the bacteria causing leptospirosis, particularly in urban informal settlements. However, the impact of variation in rat abundance and pathogen shedding rates on spillover transmission to humans remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate how spatial variation in reservoir abundance and pathogen pressure affect spillover transmission to humans in a Brazilian urban informal settlement.

Overestimation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Household Transmission in Settings of High Community Transmission: Insights From an Informal Settlement Community in Salvador, Brazil.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant has spread globally. However, the contribution of community versus household transmission to the overall risk of infection remains unclear.

Methods: Between November 2021 and March 2022, we conducted an active case-finding study in an urban informal settlement with biweekly visits across 1174 households with 3364 residents.

Predictors of Neurodevelopment in Microcephaly Associated with Congenital Zika Syndrome: A Prospective Study.

Unlabelled: The municipality of Salvador, situated in Brazil, distinguished itself as the epicenter of the emergence of microcephaly related to congenital manifestations of Zika syndrome. Despite the anticipated significant developmental setbacks in these children, research has indicated a varied range of outcomes, with certain instances even reflecting minimal developmental delay. Our objective was to pinpoint determinants that could forecast developmental anomalies in children diagnosed with microcephaly associated with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS).

Social determinants of adult COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake in a Brazilian urban informal community: a longitudinal time-to-event study.

Residents of informal urban settlements have a high risk of COVID-19 exposure and have less access to medical care, making vaccine-driven prevention critical in this vulnerable population. Despite robust vaccination campaigns in Brazil, vaccine uptake and timing continue to be influenced by social factors and contribute to health disparities. To address this, we conducted a sequential survey in a cohort of 717 adults in an urban in Salvador, Brazil where participants were interviewed in 2020, before vaccines were rolled out, and in 2022, after primary and booster dose distribution.

Extensive transmission of SARS-CoV-2 BQ.1* variant in a population with high levels of hybrid immunity: A prevalence survey.

Objectives: The SARS-CoV-2 BQ.1* variant rapidly spread globally in late 2022, posing a challenge due to its increased immune evasion.

Methods: We conducted a prevalence survey in Brazil from November 16 to December 22, 2022, as part of a cohort study.

Bothrops jararacussu snake venom decreases CD1d, CD83, and CD86 expression on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells.

This study was designed to characterize mice bone marrow (BM) and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) and to compare the surface markers expression and inflammatory cytokine liberation in response to LPS and Bothrops jararacussu venom (BjV) stimulation. Typical morphology was observed in BM and BMDCs from the 4th up to the 8th day of culture using recombinant mouse GM-CSF and IL-4. A high basal level of MHC-II, CD1d, CD83, CD11c, CD80, and low CD86 was expressed by BM cells.

Factors associated with differential seropositivity to and in a high transmission urban setting for leptospirosis in Brazil.

Background: Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by pathogenic species of bacteria belonging to the genus . Most studies infer the epidemiological patterns of a single serogroup or aggregate all serogroups to estimate overall seropositivity, thus not exploring the risks of exposure to distinct serogroups. The present study aims to delineate the demographic, socioeconomic and environmental factors associated with seropositivity of serogroup Icterohaemorraghiae and serogroup Cynopteri in an urban high transmission setting for leptospirosis in Brazil.

Bothrops atrox mice experimental envenoming treatment using light-emitting diode (led) as an adjunct therapy to conventional serum therapy.

The use of anti-venom is one of the main control measures for snakebite envenoming when applied immediately after the snakebite. Systemic effects of the envenoming are usually reversed; however, neutralization of local effects is hardly achieved. The need for adjuvant therapies associated with serum therapy can improve the treatment for local effects of envenoming, with greater effectiveness in preventing or delaying the progression of damage, reducing the clinical signs and symptoms of victims of snakebites.

Plasmodium infection is associated with cross-reactive antibodies to carbohydrate epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.

Sero-surveillance can monitor and project disease burden and risk. However, SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results can produce false positive results, limiting their efficacy as a sero-surveillance tool. False positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody results are associated with malaria exposure, and understanding this association is essential to interpret sero-surveillance results from malaria-endemic countries.

Reliable estimation of SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike protein IgG titers from single dilution optical density values in serologic surveys.

Reliable and scalable seroepidemiology methods are needed to estimate SARS-CoV-2 incidence and monitor the dynamics of population-level immunity as the pandemic evolves. We aimed to evaluate the reliability of SARS-CoV-2 normalized ELISA optical density (nOD) at a single dilution compared to titers derived from serial dilutions. We conducted serial serosurveys within a community-based cohort in Salvador, Brazil.

Rickettsial Infections Causing Acute Febrile Illness in Urban Slums, Brazil.

We conducted enhanced acute febrile illness surveillance in an urban slum community in Salvador, Brazil. We found that rickettsial infection accounted for 3.5% of urgent care visits for acute fever.

Reactive oxygen species-dependent-NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human neutrophils induced by l-amino acid oxidase derived from Calloselasma rhodostoma venom.

l-Amino acid oxidase isolated from Calloselasma rhodostoma (Cr-LAAO) snake venom is a potent stimulus for neutrophil activation and production of inflammatory mediators, contributing to local inflammatory effects in victims of envenoming. Cr-LAAO triggered the activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatase (NADPH) oxidase complex and protein kinase C (PKC)-α signaling protein for reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. This study aims to evaluate the ROS participation in the NLRP3 inflammasome complex activation in human neutrophil.

Linking rattiness, geography and environmental degradation to spillover infections in marginalised urban settings: An eco-epidemiological community-based cohort study in Brazil.

Background: Zoonotic spillover from animal reservoirs is responsible for a significant global public health burden, but the processes that promote spillover events are poorly understood in complex urban settings. Endemic transmission of , the agent of leptospirosis, in marginalised urban communities occurs through human exposure to an environment contaminated by bacteria shed in the urine of the rat reservoir. However, it is unclear to what extent transmission is driven by variation in the distribution of rats or by the dispersal of bacteria in rainwater runoff and overflow from open sewer systems.

Structural factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in an urban slum setting in Salvador, Brazil: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: The structural environment of urban slums, including physical, demographic, and socioeconomic attributes, renders inhabitants more vulnerable to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Yet, little is known about the specific determinants that contribute to high transmission within these communities. We therefore aimed to investigate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in an urban slum in Brazil.

Biannual and Quarterly Comparison Analysis of Agglutinating Antibody Kinetics on a Subcohort of Individuals Exposed to in Salvador, Brazil.

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with a worldwide spread that leads to clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic infection to a life-threatening disease. The immune response is predominantly humoral mediated limited to the infecting serovar. Individuals living in an area endemic for leptospirosis are often exposed to an environment contaminated with leptospires and there is a paucity of information on naturally acquired immunity.

Measuring the General and Specific Domains of Self-Esteem: The Short-form of the State Self-Esteem Scale.

Self-esteem is a crucial human nature feature for understanding the social dimensions of individuals' self-concept. One of its characteristics is peoples' malleability to adapt to social contexts, that is, the state self-esteem (SSE). Individuals express SES in three different factors: performance; social success; and physical appearance.

Unequal burden of Zika-associated microcephaly among populations with public and private healthcare in Salvador, Brazil.

Objectives: To describe the differences in clinical presentation and relative disease burden of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS)-associated microcephaly at 2 large hospitals in Salvador, Brazil that serve patients of different socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods: Clinical and serologic data were collected prospectively from pregnant women and their infants, who delivered at 2 study centers during the 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in Salvador, Brazil.

Results: Pregnant women from Salvador, Brazil delivering in a low SES hospital had 3 times higher ZIKV exposure rate than women at a high SES hospital.

Rainfall and other meteorological factors as drivers of urban transmission of leptospirosis.

Background: Leptospirosis is an important public health problem affecting vulnerable urban slum populations in developing country settings. However, the complex interaction of meteorological factors driving the temporal trends of leptospirosis remain incompletely understood.

Methods And Findings: From March 1996-March 2010, we investigated the association between the weekly incidence of leptospirosis and meteorological anomalies in the city of Salvador, Brazil by using a dynamic generalized linear model that accounted for time lags, overall trend, and seasonal variation.

Educational quality and oral health promotion in Brazilian schools: a multilevel analysis of national data.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether educational quality is associated with schools' potential support for oral health promotion in Brazil, using a multilevel model. An ecological study was carried out using data from 940 public schools (school level) from the 27 Brazilian state capitals (city-level). The explanatory variable was educational quality, measured by the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) for each city, and the four dependent variables referred to the Oral Health Promotion School Environment (OHPSE) indicator and its dimensions: Dimension 1 (In-school aspects), Dimension 2 (Aspects of the school surroundings), and Dimension 3 (Prohibitive policies at school).

Quality of education and adolescents' oral health-related behaviours: a multilevel analysis.

Purpose: The school environment may positively influence student health behaviours and learning. This study aimed to investigate the association between cities' quality of education and adolescent students' oral health-related behaviours.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using data of the 2015 Brazilian National Adolescent School-Based Health Survey and other public databases.

Structural factors contributing to SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in the urban slum setting.

Background: The structural environment of urban slums, including physical, demographic and socioeconomic attributes, renders inhabitants more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Yet, little is known about the specific determinants that contribute to high transmission within these communities.

Methods And Findings: We performed a serosurvey of an established cohort of 2,035 urban slum residents from the city of Salvador, Brazil between November 2020 and February 2021, following the first COVID-19 pandemic wave in the country.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and associated factors according to sex: A population-based survey in Salvador, Brazil.

Vaccination is a major strategy to prevent the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, information about factors associated with men and women intention to be vaccinated are scarce. To determine COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and identify factors associated vaccine hesitancy according to sex, we performed a cross-sectional population-based random survey in Salvador, Brazil between Nov/2020-Jan/2021.