Hantavírus Pulmonary Syndrome in Anajatuba, Maranhão - Brazil case reports

The authors report a confirmed case of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the rural area of the municipality of Anajatuba, state of Maranhão. Two other suspected cases from the same region are also described. The confirmed case involved a previously healthy young woman who died with signs and symptoms of acute respiratory insufficiency 5 days after presenting fever, myalgia and a dry cough. The patient was a student who was helping her parents with work in the fields; it was a habit of the family to store rice inside the house. The suspected cases involved two first-degree relatives working as field hands who died of acute respiratory insufficiency24 and 48 hours, respectively, after presenting fever, myalgia and a dry cough. Both stored rice and corn inside their home. People living in the region reported massive infestations with rats in the woods and fields...(AU)

Yellow fever in Pará State, Amazon region of Brazil, 1998-1999: entomologic and epidemiologic findings

Yellow fever (YF) is frequently associated with high severity and death rates in the Amazon region of Brazil. During the rainy seasons of 1998 and 1999, 23 (eight deaths) and 34 (eight deaths) human cases of YF were reported, respectively, in different geographic areas of Para State; most cases were on Marajo Island. Patients were 1 to 46 years of age. Epidemiologic and ecological studies were conducted in Afua and Breves on Marajo Island; captured insects yielded isolates of 4 and 11 YF strains, respectively, from Haemagogus janthinomys pooled mosquitoes. The cases on Marajo Island in 1999 resulted from lack of vaccination near the focus of the disease and intense migration, which brought many nonimmune people to areas where infected vectors were present. We hypothesize that YF virus remains in an area after an outbreak by vertical transmission among Haemagogus mosquitoes...(AU)

Isolation of dengue 2 virus from a patient with central nervous system involvment (transverse myelitis)

A dengue fever case is described in a 58-year-old male patient with febrile illness and thrombocytopeniacomplicated by neurological involvement characterized by transverse myelitis followed by weakness of bothlegs and flaccid paralysis. Muscle strength was much diminished and bilateral areflexia was observed. Dengue2 (DEN-2) virus was isolated and the patient sero-converted by hemagglutination-inhibition and IgM-ELISAtests. The RT-PCR test was positive to DEN-2 in acute phase serum and culture supernatant, but negative inthe cerebrospinal fluid. After three weeks of hospitalization the patient was discharged. No other infectiousagent was detected in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples. The patient had full recovery from paralysissix months after the onset of DEN-2 infection...(AU)

Serious adverse events associated with yellow fever 17DD vaccine / in Brazil: a report of two cases

The yellow fever vaccine is regarded as one of thesafest attenuated virus vaccines, with few side-effects oradverse events. We report the occurrence of two fatal cases of haemorrhagic fever associated with yellow fever 17DD substrain vaccine in Brazil...(AU)