The risk of acquiring the new influenza A(H1N1) for Brazilian travelers to Chile, Argentina and the USA

We estimate the risk of acquiring the new influenza A(H1N1) for Brazilian travelers to Chile, Argentina and the USA. This is done by a mathematical model that quantifies the intensity of transmission of the new virus in those countries and the probability that one individual has of acquiring the influenza depending on the date of arrival and time spent in the area. The maximum estimated risk reached 7.5 cases per 10,000 visitors to Chile, 17 cases per 10,000 travelers to Argentina and 23 cases per 10,000 travelers to the USA. The estimated number of imported cases until 27 July is 57 ± 9 from Chile, 136 ± 27 from the USA and 301 ± 21 from Argentina, which are in accord with the official figures. Estimating the number of imported cases was particularly important for the moment of the disease introduction into this country, but it will certainly be important again as a tool to calculate the number of future imported cases from northern countries in our next inter-epidemic season, were imported cases can constitute again the majority of the new influenza burden to the Brazilian health services.HCFMUSP - LIM01FAPESP(FAPERJ) Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeir

Relato teórico: reflexões e considerações para autores, revisores e editores

Epidemiological studies focused on public health have currently shown significant limitations regarding in-depth theoretical reports, overvaluing methodological aspects. The lack of theoretical explanation affects both the quality and reproducibility of studies. This study therefore reflected on the importance of in-depth theoretical reports considering the theoretical foundation used by researchers in the main sections of the manuscript (title, abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion) based on a review of the scientific literature on the subject. We believe that this article can help understand the importance and the development of in-depth theoretical reports in scientific articles, contributing to assessments, interpretations, and criticisms of reviewers and editors regarding the explanation and reporting of theoretical foundation in manuscripts submitted to scientific journals.Atualmente, os estudos epidemiológicos voltados à saúde pública têm apresentado limitações importantes quanto ao relato teórico em profundidade, frente a uma supervalorização de aspectos metodológicos. A falta de explicitação teórica nas publicações, afeta não apenas a qualidade do estudo, como também sua reprodutibilidade. Nesse sentido, apoiados em uma revisão da literatura científica acerca do tema, apresentamos neste ensaio reflexões sobre a importância do relato teórico aprofundado, relacionado à fundamentação teórica adotada por pesquisadores nas principais seções do manuscrito (título, resumo, introdução, metodologia, resultados, discussão e conclusão). Acreditamos que este artigo pode favorecer a compreensão sobre a importância e desenvolvimento de relatos teóricos aprofundados em artigos científicos e contribuir para avaliações, interpretações e críticas dos revisores e editores em relação à importância da explicitação e do relato da fundamentação teórica nos manuscritos submetidos aos periódicos científicos

SPf66 vaccine trial in Brazil : conceptual framework study design and analytical approach

O presente artigo descreve a população de estudo e o desenho do ensaio de campo de fase III da vacina sintética SPf66 no Brasil. São avaliados os princípios básicos de validade e precisão, essenciais para a estimação adequada da eficácia vacinal. Os resultados da análise exploratória de dados são discutidos assim como, a abordagem analítica para a estimação da eficácia vacinal. Este trabalho fornece o marco conceitual para futuras publicações. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis paper describes the study population and the study design of the phase III field trial of the SPf66 vaccine in Brazil. Assessment of validity and precision principles necessary for the appropriate evaluation of the protective effect of the vaccine are discussed, as well as the results of the preliminary analyses of the gathered data. The analytical approach for the estimation of the protective effect of the vaccine is presented. This paper provides the conceptual framework for future publications

Modelos teóricos: reflexões necessárias

RESUMO Objetivo: Apresentar reflexões teórico-metodológicas sobre elaboraçõo, tipos e funções dos modelos teóricos, bem como suas estruturas conceituais e de análise. Métodos: Trata-se de um ensaio cujo processo de coleta do material foi realizado de forma não sistemática, eleito exclusivamente e baseado na linha de argumentaçõo e reflexão que os autores pretendem submeter à apreciaçõo e ao debate público. Resultados: Este trabalho apresenta reflexões sobre tipos e funções dos modelos teóricos, fundamentaçõo teórica nas pesquisas e reflexões sobre a importância dos modelos teóricos para as pesquisas em saúde pública e sua relaçõo com o processo de elaboraçõo, desenvolvimento e relato nos estudos científicos. Além disso, são descritos tipos de modelos teóricos referentes aos planos conceitual e empírico, e a importante elaboraçõo e descriçõo da junçõo de ambos para o fazer científico. Conclusão: Espera-se que este artigo levante discussões e reflexões sobre os métodos atuais que permeiam o fazer científico e fomentem a utilizaçõo dos modelos teóricos como base das pesquisas científicas em seu processo de elaboraçõo, desenvolvimento e relato

COVID-19 and social distancing among children and adolescents in Brazil

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and the adherence to measures of social distancing in children and adolescents studied in three national surveys conducted in Brazil between May–June 2020. METHODS Three national serological surveys were conducted in 133 sentinel cities located in all 27 Federative Units. Multistage probability sampling was used to select 250 individuals per city. The total sample size in age ranges 0–9 and 10–19 years old are of 4,263 and 8,024 individuals, respectively. Information on children or adolescents was gathered with a data collection app, and a rapid point-of-case test for SARS-CoV-2 was conducted on a finger prick blood sample. RESULTS The adjusted prevalence of antibodies was 2.9% (2.2–3.6) among children 0–9 years, 2.2% (1.8–2.6) among adolescents 10-19 years, and 3.0% (2.7–3.3) among adults 20+years. Prevalence of antibodies was higher among poor children and adolescents compared to those of rich families. Adherence to social distancing measures was seen in 72.4% (71.9–73.8) of families with children, 60.8% (59.6–61.9) for adolescents, and 57.4% (56.9–57.8) for adults. For not leaving the house except for essential matters the proportions were 81.7% (80.5–82.9), 70.6% (69.6–61.9), and 65.1% (64.7–65.5), respectively. Among children and adolescents, social distancing was strongly associated with socioeconomic status, being much higher in the better-off families. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 showed comparable levels among children, adolescents, and adults. Adherence to social distancing measures was more prevalent in children, followed by adolescents. There were important socioeconomic differences in the adherence to social distancing among children and adolescents

Evolução da prevalência de infecção por COVID-19 no Rio Grande do Sul: inquéritos sorológicos seriados

COVID-19 is a disease produced by the virus SARS-CoV-2. This virus has spread quickly throughout the world, leading the World Health Organization to first classify COVID-19 as an international health emergency and, subsequently declaring it pandemic. The number of confirmed cases, as April 11, surpassed 1,700,000, but this figure does not reflect the real prevalence of COVID-19 in the population, as in many countries tests are almost exclusively performed in people with symptoms, particularly severe cases. In order to properly assess the magnitude of the problem and to contribute to the design of evidence-based policies for fighting COVID-19, one must accurately estimate the prevalence of infection in the population. The present study is aimed at estimating the prevalence of infected individuals in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to document how fast the infection is spreading, and to estimate the proportion of infected people who present or presented symptoms, as well as the proportion of asymptomatic infections. Four repeated serological surveys will be conducted in probability samples in nine sentinel cities every two weeks, representing all regions of the State. Tests will be performed in 4,500 participants in each survey, totaling 18,000 interviews. Interviews and tests will be conducted at the participants’ household. A rapid test for the detection of antibodies will be used; the test was validated prior to the beginning of the fieldwork.A COVID-19 é uma doença produzida pelo vírus SARS-CoV-2. Esse vírus se espalhou rapidamente pelo mundo, o que levou a Organização Mundial da Saúde a classificar a COVID-19 como uma emergência de saúde internacional e, posteriormente, declará-la uma pandemia. O número de casos confirmados, no dia 11 de abril de 2020, já passa de 1.700.000, porém esses dados não refletem a real prevalência de COVID-19 na população, visto que, em muitos países, os testes são quase que exclusivamente realizados em pessoas com sintomas, especialmente os mais graves. Para definir políticas de enfrentamento, é essencial dispor de dados sobre a prevalência real de infecção na população. Os objetivos principais desse estudo são avaliar a proporção de indivíduos já infectados pelo SARS-CoV-2 no Rio Grande do Sul, analisar a velocidade de expansão da infecção e estimar o percentual de infectados com e sem sintomas. Serão realizados quatro inquéritos sorológicos repetidos a cada 15 dias, com amostragem probabilística de nove cidades sentinela, em todas as sub-regiões do Estado. Os testes serão realizados em 4.500 indivíduos em cada inquérito, totalizando 18.000 entrevistas. As entrevistas e testes ocorrerão no âmbito domiciliar. Serão utilizados testes rápidos para detecção de anticorpos, validados previamente ao início da coleta de dados

Novel transposable elements from Anopheles gambiae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences, present in the genome of most eukaryotic organisms that hold the key characteristic of being able to mobilize and increase their copy number within chromosomes. These elements are important for eukaryotic genome structure and evolution and lately have been considered as potential drivers for introducing transgenes into pathogen-transmitting insects as a means to control vector-borne diseases. The aim of this work was to catalog the diversity and abundance of TEs within the <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>genome using the PILER tool and to consolidate a database in the form of a hyperlinked spreadsheet containing detailed and readily available information about the TEs present in the genome of <it>An. gambiae</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we present the spreadsheet named AnoTExcel that constitutes a database with detailed information on most of the repetitive elements present in the genome of the mosquito. Despite previous work on this topic, our approach permitted the identification and characterization both of previously described and novel TEs that are further described in detailed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Identification and characterization of TEs in a given genome is important as a way to understand the diversity and evolution of the whole set of TEs present in a given species. This work contributes to a better understanding of the landscape of TEs present in the mosquito genome. It also presents a novel platform for the identification, analysis, and characterization of TEs on sequenced genomes.</p

Snake bite epidemiology in the last 100 years in Brazil: a review

Made available in DSpace on 2010-08-23T16:41:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Bochner_Epidemiologia dos acidentes_2003.pdf: 75515 bytes, checksum: 9030fe91c71a892681ceff3b0243f321 (MD5) license.txt: 1842 bytes, checksum: 86441eae3617aa29f45b23777d32b785 (MD5) Bochner_Epidemiologia dos acidentes_2003.pdf.txt: 37355 bytes, checksum: 4ab7aeb2d3474decf5e31a3a2d235597 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003Made available in DSpace on 2010-11-04T14:18:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Bochner_Epidemiologia dos acidentes_2003.pdf.txt: 37355 bytes, checksum: 4ab7aeb2d3474decf5e31a3a2d235597 (MD5) license.txt: 1842 bytes, checksum: 86441eae3617aa29f45b23777d32b785 (MD5) Bochner_Epidemiologia dos acidentes_2003.pdf: 75515 bytes, checksum: 9030fe91c71a892681ceff3b0243f321 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Informação Científica e Tecnológica. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Presidência. Programa de Computação Científica. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Neste trabalho foram analisados 22 artigos, 4 livros, 3 relatórios e 1 manual publicados no período de 1901 a 2000, que tratam de acidentes ofídicos ocorridos no Brasil. Concluiu-se que as análises epidemiológicas realizadas nos últimos 100 anos são baseadas nas mesmas variáveis já apontadas por Vital Brazil em seu Boletim para Observação de Accidente Ophidico, ou seja, variáveis referentes ao indivíduo, ao evento e ao atendimento. O perfil epidemiológico desses acidentes também se manteve inalterado ao longo dos anos, isto é, são mais comuns em pessoas do sexo masculino, em trabalhadores rurais, na faixa etária de 15 a 49 anos, atingem principalmente os membros inferiores e a maioria desses acidentes é atribuída às serpentes do gênero Bothrops.We review 30 studies on snake bites in Brazil, published from 1901 to 2000, and conclude that epidemiological analyses conducted in the last 100 years are based on the same variables already identified by Vital Brazil in his pioneering report, i.e., characteristics of the individuals prone to snake bites, the bites themselves, and treatment. The original epidemiological profile was also maintained over the years and indicates that such accidents are more frequent among male farm workers in the 15-49-year age bracket, affecting mainly the lower limbs, and caused by snakes from genus Bothrops