Spatial analysis of socio-economic factors and their relationship with the cases of COVID-19 in Pernambuco, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the spatial distribution of rates of COVID-19 cases and its association with socio-economic conditions in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. METHODS: Autocorrelation (Moran index) and spatial association (Geographically weighted regression) models were used to explain the interrelationships between municipalities and the possible effects of socio-economic factors on rates. RESULTS: Two isolated clusters were revealed in the inner part of the state in sparsely inhabited municipalities. The spatial model (Geographically Weighted Regression) was able to explain 50% of the variations in COVID-19 cases. The variables proportion of people with low income, percentage of rented homes, percentage of families in social programs, Gini index and running water had the greatest explanatory power for the increase in infection by COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide important information on socio-economic factors related to the spread of COVID-19 and can serve as a basis for decision-making in similar circumstances.

Deforestation drivers in the Brazilian Amazon: assessing new spatial predictors.

Researches on the deforestation of the Amazon have gained prominence in the last recent years, mainly with the change in the policy regarding the facing of this phenomenon by the Brazilian government. Therefore, an understanding about the causes that pressure the occurrence of deforestation remains relevant and has a leading role in the world. Therefore, the aim of this study is to perform the analysis of the spatial variability of the reasons for the deforestation in the Amazon Biome, in Brazil, (2010-2019). To achieve this goal, 14 variables were selected, the choice and adjustment of the regression model were determined and a diagnosis was carried out in order to verify the most appropriate model. To achieve this purpose, a geographic database was structured in a geographic information system environment. The main results revealed that the adjusted R2 of the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) was 0.96, that is, the GWR model explains 96% of the variations in deforestation. Therefore, it was observed a significant gain when using this model. In addition, it was also observed that the average variable of the number of oxen was, among those analyzed, the one that showed the highest correlation with deforestation. Thus, it was found that the livestock sector in southern Amazonia is the main economic agent that pressures large areas of deforestation, since stockfarming is practiced extensively. Finally, it was concluded that the municipalities with the largest areas of deforestation formed a cluster in the southern portion of the Amazon, in the arc of deforestation.

Prospective cross-sectional evaluation of the small membrane filtration method for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Smear microscopy has suboptimal sensitivity, and there is a need to improve its performance since it is commonly used to diagnose tuberculosis (TB). We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the small membrane filtration (SMF) method, an approach that uses a vacuum manifold and is designed to concentrate bacilli onto a filter that can be examined microscopically. We enrolled hospitalized adults suspected to have pulmonary TB in Kampala, Uganda. We obtained a clinical history and three spontaneously expectorated sputum specimens for smear microscopy (direct, concentrated, and SMF), MGIT (mycobacterial growth indicator tube) 960 and Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) cultures, and Xpert MTB/RIF testing. We performed per-specimen (primary) and per-patient analyses. From October 2012 to June 2013, we enrolled 212 patients (579 sputum specimens). The participants were mostly female (63.2%), and 81.6% were HIV infected; their median CD4 cell count was 47 cells/µl. Overall, 19.0%, 20.4%, 27.1%, 25.2%, and 25.9% of specimens tested positive by direct smear, concentrated smear, MGIT culture, LJ culture, and Xpert test, respectively. In the per-specimen analysis, the sensitivity of the SMF method (48.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 37.4 to 59.6) was lower than those of direct smear (60.9%; 51.4 to 70.5 [P = 0.0001]) and concentrated smear (63.3%; 53.6 to 73.1 [P < 0.0001]). Subgroup analyses showed that SMF performed poorly in specimens having a low volume or low bacterial load. The SMF method performed poorly compared to standard smear techniques and was sensitive to sample preparation techniques. The optimal laboratory SMF protocol may require striking a fine balance between sample dilution and filtration failure rate.

Differentially culturable tubercle bacteria dynamics during standard anti-tuberculosis treatment: A prospective cohort study.

This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics of culture filtrate dependent subpopulations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a prospective cohort study following 17 patients through a standard 6-month anti-tuberculosis regimen, performing monthly sputum collection. We performed the limiting dilution method with culture filtrate supplementation of liquid media in pre- and post-treatment sputum samples to assess the bacillary load and to evaluate the Mycobacterium tuberculosis subpopulation dynamics within the 6-months standard anti-tuberculosis regimen. We found that supplementation increased the bacillary load by 30% in pre-treatment samples (p = 0.0005) and 35% in samples after one month of treatment (p = 0.0977). We found a weak linear correlation between the decrease of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth in liquid media with and without culture filtrate supplementation (ρ = 0.54; p = 0.026). None of the patients had bacilli recovery after two months of treatment. Our study constitutes the first follow-up regarding Mycobacterium tuberculosis subpopulation dynamics throughout a standard 6-month anti-tuberculosis treatment and also supports the use of culture filtrate to increase bacillary load in liquid media. Moreover, it highlights that any new treatment regimens should test the efficacy of the drugs in all Mycobacterium tuberculosis subpopulations.

Sputum sample collected over a period of 5 h: A reliable procedure for early bactericidal activity studies.

Our study was designed to test the hypothesis that an early morning sputum may be sufficient for calculation of early bactericidal activity (EBA). Patients underwent sputum collection randomly (spot, 5 h and 12 h) in consecutive days. The median CFU count in the spot samples group was 5.67 log10 CFU/mL compared to 6.17 log10 CFU/mL in 5 h and 6.23 log10 CFU/mL in 12 h samples. Inter-patient comparison showed low coefficient of variation for both 12 h (11%) and 5 h samples (10%). Intrapatient samples analysis demonstrated that the median bacillary load variation (0.037 log10 CFU/mL and 0.022 log10 CFU/mL for 5 and 12 h samples respectively) was comparable to the other EBA studies and did not vary significantly from one day of collection to another. We concluded that 5 h pooled sputum when collected appropriately in the morning can be sufficient for calculation of EBA.

The impact of ocular tuberculosis on vision after two months of intensive therapy.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease of global importance with major economic and social burden accounting for 25% of all avoidable deaths in developing countries. Extrapulmonary involvement may occur either in association with clinically apparent pulmonary tuberculosis or in isolation. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to evaluate the impact of ocular tuberculosis in visual acuity at baseline and after two months of intensive anti-tuberculous therapy. A sample of 133 pulmonary tuberculosis patients, seven disseminated tuberculosis, and three pleural tuberculosis patients was evaluated. All patients underwent routine ophthalmic evaluation, including assessment of visual acuity, biomicroscopy, applanation tonometry, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and fluorescent angiography as appropriate. None of the patients had impaired visual acuity due to tuberculosis. A rate of 4.2% (6/143) of ocular involvement was found. None of the patients with ocular involvement were HIV-infected. Of the six patients with ocular involvement, five met the diagnostic criteria for probable and one for possible ocular lesions. As for the type of ocular lesions, two patients had bilateral findings: one had sclerouveitis and the second had choroidal nodules. The other four patients presented with unilateral lesions: peripheral retinal artery occlusion in the right eye (one case), choroidal nodules in the left eye (one case), and choroidal nodules in the right eye (two cases). Patients progressed favorably after two month of intensive therapy, with no significant reduction in vision.

The impact of ocular tuberculosis on vision after two months of intensive therapy

ABSTRACT Tuberculosis is an infectious disease of global importance with major economic and social burden accounting for 25% of all avoidable deaths in developing countries. Extrapulmonary involvement may occur either in association with clinically apparent pulmonary tuberculosis or in isolation. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to evaluate the impact of ocular tuberculosis in visual acuity at baseline and after two months of intensive anti-tuberculous therapy. A sample of 133 pulmonary tuberculosis patients, seven disseminated tuberculosis, and three pleural tuberculosis patients was evaluated. All patients underwent routine ophthalmic evaluation, including assessment of visual acuity, biomicroscopy, applanation tonometry, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and fluorescent angiography as appropriate. None of the patients had impaired visual acuity due to tuberculosis. A rate of 4.2% (6/143) of ocular involvement was found. None of the patients with ocular involvement were HIV-infected. Of the six patients with ocular involvement, five met the diagnostic criteria for probable and one for possible ocular lesions. As for the type of ocular lesions, two patients had bilateral findings: one had sclerouveitis and the second had choroidal nodules. The other four patients presented with unilateral lesions: peripheral retinal artery occlusion in the right eye (one case), choroidal nodules in the left eye (one case), and choroidal nodules in the right eye (two cases). Patients progressed favorably after two month of intensive therapy, with no significant reduction in vision.