Parental Stress in Primary Caregivers of Children with Evidence of Congenital Zika Virus Infection in Northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Despite the well-known role of parents as caregivers, few studies have addressed their health outcomes related to the Zika virus epidemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 146 primary caregivers of children 15-26 months of age, with laboratory and/or clinical evidence of Zika infection between August and October 2017 in three Brazilian municipalities: João Pessoa and Campina Grande in the state of Paraíba and Fortaleza in the state of Ceará. Caregivers reported on their child's life and health, family circumstances and underwent screening for stress using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Children were evaluated for developmental delays and clinical outcomes. Differences in the prevalence of risk factors between caregivers with high or clinically relevant stress and those with normal stress were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 146 participants, 13% (n = 19) were classified as having high or clinically relevant stress, all of them mothers. The two risk factors significantly and independently associated with high levels of stress, compared with individuals with normal stress levels, were "reporting difficulty in covering basic expenses" (adjusted OR 3.6 (95% CI 1.1-11.8; p = 0.034)) and "having a child with sleep problems" (adjusted OR 10.4 (95% CI 1.3-81.7; p = 0.026)). CONCLUSIONS: Some factors seem to contribute significantly more than others to the level of stress experienced by caregivers of children with evidence of Zika virus congenital infection. Interventions and preventive strategies should also target caregivers, who in turn will be able to respond to the unique characteristics of their child.

Acquired syphilis in the context of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV: a systematic review of the scientific literature.

The aim of this study was systematically review the acquired syphilis before and during follow-up of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. We analyzed articles that studied PrEP users with the outcome of acquired syphilis. The eligibility criteria were studies retrieved from the United States National Library of Medicine (Pubmed), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (Lilacs), Embase and Scopus databases, published between 2012 and 2023, in English, Spanish or Portuguese. We performed the descriptive synthesis and quality analysis of selected studies using the Newcastle Ottawa scale or Cochrane scale. We also used random-effects models to generate pooled rate estimates for syphilis before PrEP and during follow-up. A total of 4412 studies were found and 35 were selected, all in English, and almost all with high or satisfactory quality. The review found a PrEP syphilis rate of 6.0%. A summary of three studies estimated a 2.34-fold increased risk of syphilis acquisition during PrEP, with an incidence rate of 8.89 cases/100 person-years. These findings warrant caution due to study heterogeneity. Compared to HIV-positive individuals, PrEP users exhibit potentially higher syphilis rates, particularly among those aged 33-38 years, and factors such as age ≥ 35 years, MSM status, prior sexually-transmitted infections, and longer PrEP duration (every 6 months) are associated. Future research should further investigate these PrEP-related factors contributing to heightened syphilis risk.

Risk factors for death from pandemic (H1N1) 2009, southern Brazil.

To identify risk factors for death from pandemic (H1N1) 2009, we obtained data for 157 hospitalized patients with confirmed cases of this disease. Multivariate analysis showed that diabetes and class III obesity were associated with death. These findings helped define priority vaccination groups in Brazil.

Population attributable fractions of mortality in people living with HIV: roles of delayed antiretroviral therapy, hepatitis coinfections and social factors.

OBJECTIVES: Despite free access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) from 1996 onward, and treatment for all people living with HIV (PLWHIV) from 2013, mortality in Brazil has not homogeneously decreased. We investigated to what extent delayed ART, hepatitis coinfections and sociodemographic factors predict all-cause mortality in Brazilian PLWHIV. DESIGN: We included PLWHIV at least 18 years, with complete CD4 cell count data, followed up between 2007 and 2015 in Brazil. METHODS: After multiple imputation, an extended Cox model helped estimate the effects of fixed and time-varying covariates on mortality. RESULTS: The study population (n = 411 028) were mainly male (61%), white (55%), 40 years or less (61%), heterosexually HIV infected (71%), living in the Southeast region (48%) and had basic education (79%). Hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus coinfection prevalences were 2.5 and 1.4%, respectively. During a 4-year median follow-up, 61 630 deaths occurred and the mortality rate was 3.45 (95% confidence interval: 3.42-3.47) per 100 person-years. Older age, male sex, non-white ethnicity, illiteracy/basic education and living outside the Southeast and Central-West regions were independently associated with increased mortality. The main modifiable predictors of mortality were delayed ART (i.e. CD4 cell count <200 cells/µl at ART initiation) (adjusted population attributable fraction: 14.20% [95% confidence interval: 13.81-14.59]), being ART-untreated (14.06% [13.54-14.59]) and ART-treated with unrecorded CD4 at ART initiation (5.74% [5.26-6.21]). Hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus coinfections accounted for 2.44 [2.26-2.62] and 0.42% [0.31-0.53] of mortality, respectively. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrates that besides early ART and coinfection control, actions targeting males, non-whites and illiterate people and those with basic education are important to reduce avoidable deaths among Brazilian PLWHIV.

Oral transmission of Chagas disease by consumption of açaí palm fruit, Brazil.

In 2006, a total of 178 cases of acute Chagas disease were reported from the Amazonian state of Pará, Brazil. Eleven occurred in Barcarena and were confirmed by visualization of parasites on blood smears. Using cohort and case-control studies, we implicated oral transmission by consumption of açaí palm fruit.

Impact of neuraminidase inhibitors on influenza A(H1N1)pdm09-related pneumonia: an individual participant data meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The impact of neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) on influenza-related pneumonia (IRP) is not established. Our objective was to investigate the association between NAI treatment and IRP incidence and outcomes in patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection. METHODS: A worldwide meta-analysis of individual participant data from 20 634 hospitalised patients with laboratory-confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 (n = 20 021) or clinically diagnosed (n = 613) 'pandemic influenza'. The primary outcome was radiologically confirmed IRP. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalised linear mixed modelling, adjusting for NAI treatment propensity, antibiotics and corticosteroids. RESULTS: Of 20 634 included participants, 5978 (29·0%) had IRP; conversely, 3349 (16·2%) had confirmed the absence of radiographic pneumonia (the comparator). Early NAI treatment (within 2 days of symptom onset) versus no NAI was not significantly associated with IRP [adj. OR 0·83 (95% CI 0·64-1·06; P = 0·136)]. Among the 5978 patients with IRP, early NAI treatment versus none did not impact on mortality [adj. OR = 0·72 (0·44-1·17; P = 0·180)] or likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 1·17 (0·71-1·92; P = 0·537)], but early treatment versus later significantly reduced mortality [adj. OR = 0·70 (0·55-0·88; P = 0·003)] and likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 0·68 (0·54-0·85; P = 0·001)]. CONCLUSIONS: Early NAI treatment of patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection versus no treatment did not reduce the likelihood of IRP. However, in patients who developed IRP, early NAI treatment versus later reduced the likelihood of mortality and needing ventilatory support.

Influence of household rat infestation on leptospira transmission in the urban slum environment.

BACKGROUND: The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is the principal reservoir for leptospirosis in many urban settings. Few studies have identified markers for rat infestation in slum environments while none have evaluated the association between household rat infestation and Leptospira infection in humans or the use of infestation markers as a predictive model to stratify risk for leptospirosis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We enrolled a cohort of 2,003 urban slum residents from Salvador, Brazil in 2004, and followed the cohort during four annual serosurveys to identify serologic evidence for Leptospira infection. In 2007, we performed rodent infestation and environmental surveys of 80 case households, in which resided at least one individual with Leptospira infection, and 109 control households. In the case-control study, signs of rodent infestation were identified in 78% and 42% of the households, respectively. Regression modeling identified the presence of R. norvegicus feces (OR, 4.95; 95% CI, 2.13-11.47), rodent burrows (2.80; 1.06-7.36), access to water (2.79; 1.28-6.09), and un-plastered walls (2.71; 1.21-6.04) as independent risk factors associated with Leptospira infection in a household. We developed a predictive model for infection, based on assigning scores to each of the rodent infestation risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis found that the prediction score produced a good/excellent fit based on an area under the curve of 0.78 (0.71-0.84). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study found that a high proportion of slum households were infested with R. norvegicus and that rat infestation was significantly associated with the risk of Leptospira infection, indicating that high level transmission occurs among slum households. We developed an easily applicable prediction score based on rat infestation markers, which identified households with highest infection risk. The use of the prediction score in community-based screening may therefore be an effective risk stratification strategy for targeting control measures in slum settings of high leptospirosis transmission.

Serological and molecular evaluation of parvovirus B19 (B19V) in blood donors from the Blood Center of Brasília, Brazil: focus on women of childbearing age / Avaliação sorológica e molecular do parvovírus B19 (B19V) em doadores de sangue da Fundação Hemocentro de Brasília, Brasil: foco em mulheres em idade fértil

ABSTRACT Parvovirus B19 (B19V) can be transmitted by the respiratory route, vertically - from the mother to the fetus - and via blood transfusion or organ transplantation. Infection by transfusion of blood or blood products occurs due to the resistance of B19V to viral inactivation methods. Our study evaluated the presence of B19V deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and the prevalence of anti-B19V class G immunoglobulin (IgG) in women of childbearing age blood donors of the Federal District, Brazil. Our results demonstrated the absence of B19V DNA in these blood donors. However, the seroprevalence for anti-B19V IgG was observed in 60.7% of this population. This study provides important data of B19V circulation in the Center-West of Brazil.

RESUMO O parvovírus B19 (B19V) pode ser transmitido por via respiratória, verticalmente - da mãe para o feto - e via transfusão de sangue e transplante de órgãos. A infecção por transfusão de sangue ou hemoderivados ocorre devido à resistência do B19V aos métodos de inativação viral. Nosso estudo avaliou a presença do ácido desoxirribonucleico (DNA) B19V e a prevalência de imunoglobulina da classe G (IgG) anti-B19V em mulheres em idade fértil, doadoras de sangue do Distrito Federal, Brasil. Nossos resultados demonstraram a ausência de DNA de B19V nesses doadores. No entanto, foi observada a soroprevalência de IgG anti-B19V em 60,7% dessa população. Este estudo fornece dados importantes da circulação do B19V no Centro-Oeste do Brasil.