Establishment and cryptic transmission of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas.

Transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas was first confirmed in May 2015 in northeast Brazil. Brazil has had the highest number of reported ZIKV cases worldwide (more than 200,000 by 24 December 2016) and the most cases associated with microcephaly and other birth defects (2,366 confirmed by 31 December 2016). Since the initial detection of ZIKV in Brazil, more than 45 countries in the Americas have reported local ZIKV transmission, with 24 of these reporting severe ZIKV-associated disease. However, the origin and epidemic history of ZIKV in Brazil and the Americas remain poorly understood, despite the value of this information for interpreting observed trends in reported microcephaly. Here we address this issue by generating 54 complete or partial ZIKV genomes, mostly from Brazil, and reporting data generated by a mobile genomics laboratory that travelled across northeast Brazil in 2016. One sequence represents the earliest confirmed ZIKV infection in Brazil. Analyses of viral genomes with ecological and epidemiological data yield an estimate that ZIKV was present in northeast Brazil by February 2014 and is likely to have disseminated from there, nationally and internationally, before the first detection of ZIKV in the Americas. Estimated dates for the international spread of ZIKV from Brazil indicate the duration of pre-detection cryptic transmission in recipient regions. The role of northeast Brazil in the establishment of ZIKV in the Americas is further supported by geographic analysis of ZIKV transmission potential and by estimates of the basic reproduction number of the virus.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of electrospun nanofibers of PCL, chitosan and gelatin: a comparative study.

Many polymers have been investigated with respect to their use in skin tissue engineering. However, directly comparable data on the role played by different polymers in assisting skin wound healing requires their in vitro and in vivo evaluation under the same conditions. Therefore, we performed a study in order to compare the performance of electrospun nanofiber mats from three different polymers concerning cell-scaffold interaction and wound healing promotion. A polyester (polycaprolactone, PCL), a protein (gelatin from cold water fish skin, GEL) and a polysaccharide (chitosan, CS) were the polymers chosen. Gelatin nanofibers were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde vapor. The scaffolds were characterized physico-chemically, in vitro by seeding with human fetal fibroblasts, HFFF2, and used in vivo as skin substitutes in a rat wound model with total skin removal. In vitro tests revealed that cells adhered and proliferated in all scaffolds. However, cells deep into the scaffold were only observed in the PCL and CS scaffolds. In in vivo tests CS scaffolds had the highest impact on the healing process by decreasing the extent of wound contraction and enhancing the production of a neodermis and re-epithelialization of the wound.

In vitro evaluation of crosslinked electrospun fish gelatin scaffolds.

Gelatin from cold water fish skin was electrospun, crosslinked and investigated as a substrate for the adhesion and proliferation of cells. Gelatin was first dissolved in either water or concentrated acetic acid and both solutions were successfully electrospun. Cross-linking was achieved via three different routes: glutaraldehyde vapor, genipin and dehydrothermal treatment. Solution's properties (surface tension, electrical conductivity and viscosity) and scaffold's properties (chemical bonds, weight loss and fiber diameters) were measured. Cellular viability was analyzed culturing 3T3 fibroblasts plated on the scaffolds and grown up to 7 days. The cells were fixed and observed with SEM or stained for DNA and F-actin and observed with confocal microscopy. In all scaffolds, the cells attached and spread with varying degrees. The evaluation of cell viability showed proliferation of cells until confluence in scaffolds crosslinked by glutaraldehyde and genipin; however the rate of growth in genipin crosslinked scaffolds was slow, recovering only by day five. The results using the dehydrothermal treatment were the less satisfactory. Our results show that glutaraldehyde treated fish gelatin is the most suitable substrate, of the three studied, for fibroblast adhesion and proliferation.

[Survival curves of AIDS patients in Santos, Brazil]. / Curvas de sobrevivência de pacientes de AIDS em Santos, Brasil.

PIP: The probabilities of survival of patients carrying the AIDS virus are presented in the city of Santos, Brazil, where it is estimated that 1056 cases were reported in 1988, 1989, and 1990. Records of epidemiological investigations delivered by outpatient services or obtained by means of active search realized routinely in city hospitals were analyzed. Information on deaths were derived from the offices of the civil registry of Santos, Sao Vincente, and Guaruja, and from the notifications received. Losses (deaths registered in offices of other regions) were estimated at less than 2%, the proportion of incidence in the general population according to data of the Foundation SEADE. The patients were grouped by sex and stage of progression of the disease according to classification of cases (IV B, IV C, IV D, and IV E conform to the classification of the Centers for Disease control) [CDC, suspected cases (class IV A of CDC), and asymptomatic seropositive cases (classes I, II, and II of CDC).^ieng

[Epidemiological surveillance system for occupational accidents: experience in the northern area of the municipality of São Paulo (Brazil)]. / Sistema de vigilância epidemiológica para acidentes do trabalho: experiência na zona norte do município de São Paulo (Brasil).

The epidemiological approach to occupational accidents and diseases adopted in Brazil is inadequate for many reasons, among them being: 1) the fact that only employers may notify work accidents, thus permitting notorious undernotification of these occupational hazards; 2) the available information does not permit a better understanding of the causal relationship between work accidents and diseases; 3) the official policy exists only for purposes of insurance compensation. The official documents for occupational disease and accident registration are the CTA (Work accident report) and FTA (Casualty treatment card). The Worker's Health Program of SUDS-R-6 proposed, in October, 1988 a method for the codification, registration in a micro-computer data bank and analysis of this information, based on the records presently in use (CAT) for public health service planning and accident prevention purposes. The major interest was in identifying the most common types of accidents in the region and the work environments in which they most frequently occur. The target population were the workers who attended the health units lisenced to deal with work accidents and diseases, in the Northern region of S. Paulo City. The data presented below refer to the months of October, November and December, 1988, the first three months of the project. During that period a total of 2,339 accidents were registered. They were classified as: typical work accidents - 87%: commuting accidents which occurred between the home and the work-place--18% and work diseases (only 2 cases). The majority of workers (50%) were between 25 and 45 years of age, approximately 7% were under 18. Male workers represented 83.2% of accident cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)