Investigação de surto em navio de carga em tempo de COVID-19, Porto de Santos, Brasil

Em fevereiro de 2020, um navio de carga vindo da China atracou no Porto de Santos com relato de tripulantes com quadro febril e respiratório. Uma equipe foi mobilizada para verificar a existência de casos suspeitos de COVID-19 dentro da embarcação e definir a liberação da embarcação no porto. Todos os 25 tripulantes foram entrevistados e não foram encontrados casos suspeitos. Então a embarcação foi liberada para atividades no porto. A investigação resultou da aplicação do plano de contingência diante de uma emergência de saúde pública de importância internacional e houve a colaboração de diversas entidades de vigilância.In February 2020, a Chinese cargo ship docked at the Port of Santos with reports of crew members with a feverish and respiratory condition. A team was gathered to verify the existence of suspected cases of COVID-19 inside the vessel and define its clearance. All 25 crew members were interviewed, and no suspected cases were found. The vessel was then cleared for port activities. The investigation resulted from the implementation of the contingency plan to face a public health emergency of international importance and several surveillance entities cooperated

The search for yellow fever virus vaccine in breast milk of inadvertently vaccinated women in Brazil

Eleven lactating women were inadvertently vaccinated with 17DD yellow fever vaccine in a small city of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Their infants were being exclusively breast-fed and the breastfeeding was interrupted for 10 days. Serum and breastmilk were collected from the vaccinated mothers and tested for the presence of genomic RNA of the vaccine strain 8, 10 and 15 days after vaccination. Viral RNA was not detected in any of the serum and human milk samples tested and the infants remained asymptomatic. Our result strengthens the effectineness of stopping breastfeeding for 10 days after the inadvertent yellow fever vaccination of lactating women

Restoring High Vaccine Coverage in Brazil: Successes and Challenges

Facing the decline in vaccine coverage observed since 2016, the new Brazilian government committed to reversing this scenario. To achieve this, the Federal Government launched the National Vaccination Movement and the 'Health with Science' platform to combat vaccine misinformation, promoted Microplanning, providing tools for decision-making at the territorial level, allocated 30 million dollars to states and municipalities to implement innovative vaccination strategies, standardized the rules of the information systems for the registration of vaccine doses, and directed data to the National Health Data Network (RNDS). Reversing the declining trend of vaccination coverage in Brazil is challenging, but within just one year, it is possible to observe significant results from governmental actions. Out of the eight recommended vaccines by the age of one, seven showed an increase in vaccination coverage in 2023 compared to 2022: Most states showed improvements in vaccination coverage. Many challenges persist in advancing the vaccination agenda. However, there are reasons to celebrate the reversal of the declining trend in coverage of several vaccines in this first year of government and the increase in the number of municipalities that have fully achieved the vaccination coverage target. The National Vaccination Movement, with public opinion awareness, the resumption of regionalized communication campaigns, localized micro-planning actions including extramural vaccination strategies, and the integration of information systems, has been decisive in strengthening work in the territories and thus restoring a culture of immunization, a source of pride in the country and internationally recognized, throughout the 50 years of the National Immunization Progra

Adverse events following Quadrivalent HPV vaccination reported in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, in the first three years after introducing the vaccine for routine immunization (March 2014 to December 2016)

In March 2014, the Quadrivalent human papilloma virus vaccine (4vHPV) was introduced in the female adolescents vaccination schedule of the National Immunization Program (PNI). A school-based vaccination program was implemented. We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study of the adverse events that took place after HPV vaccination, reported to the Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) Information System in Sao Paulo State, from March 2014 to December 2016. All reports that fit the definitions of the 2014 National Manual on AEFI surveillance were included. AEFI risk was estimated by dividing the number of reports by the number of vaccine doses administered in the period. In the three-year period, 3,390,376 HPV vaccine doses were administered and 465 AEFI reports were registered, with 1,378 signs and symptoms. The reporting rate was 13.72 per 100,000 vaccine doses administered. The reports peaked in the first year of the program. The most frequent AEFI was syncope, with 5.7 reports per 100,000 doses administered, followed by dizziness, malaise, headache and nausea. Overall, 39 AEFI cases (8.4%) were classified as severe , with a reporting rate of 1.15 per 100,000 vaccine doses administered. Most cases were classified as severe because of hospitalization. Among them, there were cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, deep vein thrombosis, seizures and miscarriage. All young women recovered without sequelae. We identified five clusters of AEFI reports in four cities; the larger AEFI cluster occurred in the city of Bertioga, in September 2014, involving 13 female adolescents. Our data are in accordance with those from other countries and corroborate the safety of HPV vaccines

Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine 12 months after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is usually recommended from 24 months after a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Some authors have demonstrated that the MMR vaccination can be safe from 12 months post-HSCT in non-immunosuppressed patients, as recommended by the Brazilian National Immunization Program/Ministry of Health, since 2006. The objectives of this study were to evaluate when patients received MMR vaccine after an HSCT in our care service and if there were reports of any side effects. We retrospectively reviewed the records of HSCT recipients who received at least one MMR dose in our care service, a quaternary teaching hospital in Sao Paulo city, Brazil, from 2017 to 2021. We identified 82 patients: 75.6% (90.1% in the autologous group and 45.1% in the allogeneic group) were vaccinated before 23 months post-transplantation. None reported side effects following the vaccination. Our data support that the MMR vaccination is safe from 12 to 23 months after HSCT

Surto de sarampo na regiao metropolitana de Campinas, SP

O Brasil não apresenta circulação endêmica do vírus do sarampo desde o ano 2000. Entre maio e junho de 2011, a Região Metropolitana de Campinas, Estado de São Paulo, registrou três casos de sarampo. Foram descritos casos, as medidas de controle, a busca de possível fonte e de casos secundários. A caracterização genotípica do vírus identificou o genótipo D4, circulante no continente europeu. Não foram encontrados casos índice ou secundários. As medidas de controle efetuadas, aliadas à cobertura vacinal adequada da Região Metropolitana de Campinas contribuíram para que a transmissão da doença fosse interrompida

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in Brazil: a parallel with vaccination

This study aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 hospitalizations in a tertiary hospital by age group and month, considering the introduction and the advance of the vaccination against the disease. The laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated hospitalizations among people aged 20 years or older, that occurred between March 2020 and June 2021, were distributed by month of symptom onset and age group. The proportion of hospitalizations by age group was calculated for the year 2021. The proportions were compared using the chi-square test for trends. The marks of vaccination advances among different age groups were taken from the official website LocalizaSUS. In 2020, hospitalizations among people aged 60–80 years old were the most frequent (39.1%). From January–June 2021, when the vaccination commenced, while hospitalizations of patients aged 20 to < 40 and 40 to 60 years old showed an increasing trend, the older age groups and those with vaccination recommendations (from 60 to < 80 and from 80 or over) showed a downward trend. As of June 2021, with widespread vaccination, a drop in hospitalizations was observed in > 60 years old. At 20 to <40 and 40 to < 60, an increase in hospitalizations was observed. It demonstrates the important role of vaccination in combating the COVID-19 pandemic

Measles outbreak in the metropolitan region of Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

O Brasil não apresenta circulação endêmica do vírus do sarampo desde o ano 2000. Entre maio e junho de 2011, a Região Metropolitana de Campinas, Estado de São Paulo, registrou três casos de sarampo. Foram descritos casos, as medidas de controle, a busca de possível fonte e de casos secundários. A caracterização genotípica do vírus identificou o genótipo D4, circulante no continente europeu. Não foram encontrados casos índice ou secundários. As medidas de controle efetuadas, aliadas à cobertura vacinal adequada da Região Metropolitana de Campinas contribuíram para que a transmissão da doença fosse interrompida.Brasil no presenta circulación endémica del virus sarampión desde el año 2000. Entre mayo y junio de 2011, la Región Metropolitana de Campinas, Estado de Sao Paulo, registró tres casos de sarampión. Se describieron los casos, las medidas de control, la búsqueda de la posible fuente y de casos secundarios. La caracterización genotípica del virus identificó el genotipo D4. No se encontraron casos índices o secundarios. Las medidas de control efectuadas, aliadas a la adecuada cobertura de la vacuna en la Región Metropolitana de Campinas contribuyeron para que la transmisión de la enfermedad fuera interrumpida.Brazil has not had endemic circulation of the measles virus since 2000. Between May and June 2011, the Metropolitan Region of Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, reported three cases of measles. This report presents a descriptive study of the cases, control measures, and the search for a possible source and secondary cases. The genotypic characterization of the virus identified genotype D4, circulating in Europe. Secondary cases or index case were not found. The control measures and adequate vaccination coverage in Metropolitan Region of Campinas contributed to the interruption of disease transmission

Previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19

Background: BCG vaccination, originally used to prevent tuberculosis, is known to “train” the immune system to improve defence against viral respiratory infections. We investigated whether a previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19./ Methods: A case-control study comparing the proportion with a BCG vaccine scar (indicating previous vaccination) in cases and controls presenting with COVID-19 to health units in Brazil. Cases were subjects with severe COVID-19 (O2 saturation < 90%, severe respiratory effort, severe pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock). Controls had COVID-19 not meeting the definition of “severe” above. Unconditional regression was used to estimate vaccine protection against clinical progression to severe disease, with strict control for age, comorbidity, sex, educational level, race/colour, and municipality. Internal matching and conditional regression were used for sensitivity analysis./ Results: BCG was associated with high protection against COVID-19 clinical progression, over 87% (95% CI 74–93%) in subjects aged 60 or less and 35% (95% CI − 44–71%) in older subjects./ Conclusions: This protection may be relevant for public health in settings where COVID-19 vaccine coverage is still low and may have implications for research to identify vaccine candidates for COVID-19 that are broadly protective against mortality from future variants. Further research into the immunomodulatory effects of BCG may inform COVID-19 therapeutic research.