[Infectious and parasitic diseases in Brazil, 2010 to 2017: considerations for surveillanceEnfermedades infecciosas y parasitarias en Brasil de 2010 a 2017: aspectos para la vigilancia sanitaria].

Objective: To present a method to identify critical areas for selected infectious and parasitic diseases for the purpose of health surveillance and to analyze the association between these critical areas and poverty indicators in Brazil.

Method: The following incidence rates were mapped: dengue, acute Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, Hansen's disease, hepatitis A, cutaneous leishmaniasis, visceral leishmaniasis, leptospirosis, malaria, and tuberculosis. The analyses were performed for the period from 2010 to 2017 based on a synthetic indicator calculated as the mean of mean incidence coefficients for each disorder, normalized by the mean and standard deviation during the period of analysis.

Increase in Reported Prevalence of Microcephaly in Infants Born to Women Living in Areas with Confirmed Zika Virus Transmission During the First Trimester of Pregnancy - Brazil, 2015.

Widespread transmission of Zika virus by Aedes mosquitoes has been recognized in Brazil since late 2014, and in October 2015, an increase in the number of reported cases of microcephaly was reported to the Brazil Ministry of Health.* By January 2016, a total of 3,530 suspected microcephaly cases had been reported, many of which occurred in infants born to women who lived in or had visited areas where Zika virus transmission was occurring. Microcephaly surveillance was enhanced in late 2015 by implementing a more sensitive case definition.