Dengue and COVID-19, overlapping epidemics? An analysis from Colombia.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread throughout Latin America, a region swept by multiple previous and ongoing epidemics. There are significant concerns that the arrival of COVID-19 is currently overlapping with other viruses, particularly dengue, in various endo-epidemic regions across South America. In this report, we analyzed trends for both viral infections in Colombia during the first 20 epidemiological weeks (EWs) of 2020. From 1st January to 16th May 2020 (EWs, 1-20), a total of 52 679 cases of dengue and 14 943 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Colombia. As both conditions may potentially lead to fatal outcomes, especially in patients with chronic co-morbidities, overlapping infections, and co-occurrence may increase the number of patients requiring intensive care and mechanical ventilation. In regions, such as Valle del Cauca, intensified preparation for such scenarios should be pondered, and further studies should be performed to address this critical issue in a timely matter.

Let's talk about stress, baby! Infant-feeding practices and stress in the ancient Atacama desert, Northern Chile.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The transition to an agricultural economy is often presumed to involve an increase in female fertility related to changes in weaning practice. In particular, the availability of staple crops as complementary foods is hypothesized to allow earlier weaning in agricultural populations. In this study, our primary aim is to explore whether this model fits the agricultural transition in the Atacama Desert using incremental isotopic analysis. A secondary aim of this study is to identify isotopic patterns relating to weaning, and assess how these may be differentiated from those relating to early life stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We use incremental isotopic analysis of dentine to examine changes in δ15 N and δ13 C values from infancy and childhood in sites of the Arica region (n = 30). We compare individuals from pre-agricultural and agricultural phases to establish isotopic patterns and relate these patterns to maternal diet, weaning trajectory and physiological stress. RESULTS: We find that there is no evidence for systematic temporal or geographic variation in incremental isotopic results. Instead, results from all time periods are highly variable, with weaning completed between 1.5 and 3.5 years. Characteristics of the incremental profiles indicate that both in utero and postnatal stress were a common part of the infant experience in the Atacama. DISCUSSION: In the Atacama Desert it appears that the arrival of agricultural crops did not result in uniform shifts in weaning behavior. Instead, infant and child diet seems to have been dictated by the broad-spectrum diets of the mothers, perhaps as a way of mitigating the stresses of the harsh desert environment.