Head and neck cancer associated with myiasis.

Head and neck cancer patients represent a risk group for the development of fly larvae infestation in neoplastic wounds. This condition can accelerate the disease progression and increase its lethality due to local or systemic complications. The aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review on head and neck cancer associated with myiasis in order to answer the focal question: what are the occurrence, diagnosis, aetiology, treatment and outcomes of head and neck cancer associated with myiasis? This paper was structured based on the five-steps methodology proposed by Arksey and O'Malley (Int J Soc Res Methodol 2005;1:19-32), and followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), OSF Registries protocol. The electronic search was performed in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase and SciELO.org databases for articles published up to 28 February 2021. In total, 38 articles and 56 patients were included. Most patients were male (66%), and the mean age was 66.63 years. Cases were predominantly associated with squamous or basal cell cancer. The most affected anatomical sites were the eyes, scalp, ears and oral cavity, and the most frequent type of larva was Crisomyia (13%). Manual removal of the larvae was considered the standard treatment, associated or not with antibiotics, analgesics and antiparasitic drugs.

Dengue virus surveillance: the co-circulation of DENV-1, DENV-2 and DENV-3 in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This study presents the results obtained in the monitoring of dengue virus (DENV) transmission in the Greater Metropolitan Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, in the period 2000-2001. A total of 5324 serum samples from suspected cases of dengue were analysed in order to confirm dengue infection. The introduction of DENV-3 to the region in December 2000 resulted in the co-circulation of three serotypes: DENV-1, DENV-2 and DENV-3. In this study, virus isolation and/or reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) confirmed 52.3% (42/79) of DENV-3 cases, showing the importance of acute serum samples in the virological surveillance of the disease. Despite the introduction of a new serotype, an outbreak due to DENV-1 was observed in the municipality of Niteroi. The restriction site-specific PCR (RSS-PCR) patterns obtained for DENV-1 and DENV-2 isolated in that period showed that those strains belonged to the subtypes previously circulating in the state. DENV-3 RSS-PCR patterns confirmed that these viruses belonged to subtype C (Sri Lanka/India strains), represented by the strain circulating on the American continent. These data showed the importance of an active surveillance programme in countries where dengue is endemic.

Retrospective study on dengue in Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil

A retrospective serologic study was carried out in Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil, in order to detect the dengue virus activity before recognizing the epidemic of 1994. Mac-Elisa was performed by using a mixture of specific DEN-1 and DEN-2 antigens on serum samples from the Emilio Ribas Laboratory collection. Samples were obtained from 1,224 patients with exanthematic febrile disease and negative serological results for rubella. All specimens were taken during November 1993 to May 1994. The results confirmed dengue infections in Fortaleza by November 1993, approximately six months before the beginning of the epidemic, proving how misleading diagnosis of dengue infection are still troublesome, in spite of the strong dengue activity in Ceará. The authors stress the urgent necessity to implement the active surveillance system in order to prevent another extensive fever epidemics in the state. Epidemiological background of the dengue activity in the State of Ceará is also described.