One More Piece in the VACV Ecological Puzzle: Could Peridomestic Rodents Be the Link between Wildlife and Bovine Vaccinia Outbreaks in Brazil?

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that smallpox eradication was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980, other poxviruses have emerged and re-emerged, with significant public health and economic impacts. Vaccinia virus (VACV), a poxvirus used during the WHO smallpox vaccination campaign, has been involved in zoonotic infections in Brazilian rural areas (Bovine Vaccinia outbreaks - BV), affecting dairy cattle and milkers. Little is known about VACV's natural hosts and its epidemiological and ecological characteristics. Although VACV was isolated and/or serologically detected in Brazilian wild animals, the link between wildlife and farms has not yet been elucidated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we describe for the first time, to our knowledge, the isolation of a VACV (Mariana virus - MARV) from a mouse during a BV outbreak. Genetic data, in association with biological assays, showed that this isolate was the same etiological agent causing exanthematic lesions observed in the cattle and human inhabitants of a particular BV-affected area. Phylogenetic analysis grouped MARV with other VACV isolated during BV outbreaks. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These data provide new biological and epidemiological information on VACV and lead to an interesting question: could peridomestic rodents be the link between wildlife and BV outbreaks

The contributions of local and remote atmospheric moisture fluxes to East Asian precipitation and its variability

We investigate the contribution of the local and remote atmospheric moisture fluxes to East Asia (EA) precipitation and its interannual variability during 1979-2012. We use and expand the \citet{Brubaker_etal_JC_1993} method, which connects the area-mean precipitation to area-mean evaporation and the horizontal moisture flux into the region. Due to its large landmass and hydrological heterogeneity, EA is divided into five sub-regions: Southeast (SE), Tibetan Plateau (TP), Central East (CE), Northwest (NW) and Northeast (NE). For each region, we first separate the contributions to precipitation of local evaporation from those of the horizontal moisture flux by calculating the precipitation recycling ratio: the fraction of precipitation over a region that originates as evaporation from the same region. Then, we separate the horizontal moisture flux across the region's boundaries by direction. We estimate the contributions of the horizontal moisture fluxes from each direction, as well as the local evaporation, to the mean precipitation and its interannual variability. We find that the major contributors to the mean precipitation are not necessarily those that contribute most to the precipitation interannual variability. Over SE, the moisture flux via the southern boundary dominates the mean precipitation and its interannual variability. Over TP, in winter and spring, the moisture flux via the western boundary dominates the mean precipitation; however, variations in local evaporation dominate the precipitation interannual variability. The western moisture flux is the dominant contributor to the mean precipitation over CE, NW and NE. However, the southern or northern moisture flux or the local evaporation dominates the precipitation interannual variability over these regions, depending on the season. Potential mechanisms associated with interannual variability in the moisture flux are identified for each region. The methods and results presented in this study can be readily applied to model simulations, to identify simulation biases in precipitation that relate to the simulated moisture supplies and transport

Relacionamento probabilístico: recuperação de informações de óbitos infantis e natimortos em localidade no Maranhão, Brasil Probabilistic record linkage: recovery of data on infant deaths and stillbirths in Maranhão State, Brazil

Neste estudo utilizou-se método do relacionamento probabilístico de registros para estimar o sub-registro das informações sobre natimortos e óbitos infantis no Estado do Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil, em 2008. Relacionaram-se os registros do Sistema de Informações Hospitalares (SIH) (N = 374.418) e do Sistema de Informações de Mortalidade (SIM) (N = 26.597), com utilização de softwares para extração, identificação e processamento dos dados. Observou-se sub-registro de 9,7% de natimortos, 12,0% de óbitos neonatais e 5,3% de pós-neonatais. Nos municípios maiores a correção do coeficiente de mortalidade infantil foi superior a 19%. A superioridade de informações de óbitos infantis do SIH foi de 6,5% (municípios < 25 mil habitantes), 2,0% (municípios de 25-80 mil habitantes) e 8,3% (municípios > 80 mil habitantes). As inconsistências ocorreram por não preenchimento de variáveis, informações discordantes para um mesmo evento e ausência completa de registro do óbito. O método utilizado mostrou-se útil para recuperação de dados de óbitos para o SIM a partir do SIH.<br>This study used probabilistic record linkage to estimate underreporting of stillbirths and infant deaths in Maranhão State, Northeast Brazil, in 2008. Records were linked between the Hospital Information System (SIH) (N = 374,418) and the Mortality Information System (SIM) (N = 26,597), using data extraction, identification, and processing software. Under-recording rates were 9.7% for stillbirths, 12% for neonatal deaths, and 5.3% for post-neonatal deaths. In the larger municipalities, the correction of the infant mortality rate was greater than 19%. The superiority of information on infant deaths in the SIH (as compared to the SIM) was 6.5% in municipalities with < 25 thousand inhabitants, 2% in municipalities with 25-80 thousand inhabitants, and 8.3% in those with > 80 thousand inhabitants. Inconsistencies involved non-completion of items/variables, discordant data on the same event, and in some cases even total absence of death records. The method proved useful for retrieving mortality data for the SIM from the SIH