Zika emergence, persistence, and transmission rate in Colombia: a nationwide application of a space-time Markov switching model.

Zika, a viral disease transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, emerged in the Americas in 2015, causing large-scale epidemics. Colombia alone reported over 72,000 Zika cases between 2015 and 2016. Using national surveillance data from 1121 municipalities over 70 weeks, we identified sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with Zika's emergence, re-emergence, persistence, and transmission intensity in Colombia. We fitted a zero-state Markov-switching model under the Bayesian framework, assuming Zika switched between periods of presence and absence according to spatially and temporally varying probabilities of emergence/re-emergence (from absence to presence) and persistence (from presence to presence). These probabilities were assumed to follow a series of mixed multiple logistic regressions. When Zika was present, assuming that the cases follow a negative binomial distribution, we estimated the transmission intensity rate. Our results indicate that Zika emerged/re-emerged sooner and that transmission was intensified in municipalities that were more densely populated, at lower altitudes and/or with less vegetation cover. Warmer temperatures and less weekly-accumulated rain were also associated with Zika emergence. Zika cases persisted for longer in more densely populated areas with more cases reported in the previous week. Overall, population density, elevation, and temperature were identified as the main contributors to the first Zika epidemic in Colombia. We also estimated the probability of Zika presence by municipality and week, and the results suggest that the disease circulated undetected by the surveillance system on many occasions. Our results offer insights into priority areas for public health interventions against emerging and re-emerging Aedes-borne diseases.

Spatio-temporal clusters and patterns of spread of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Colombia has one of the highest burdens of arboviruses in South America. The country was in a state of hyperendemicity between 2014 and 2016, with co-circulation of several Aedes-borne viruses, including a syndemic of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in 2015. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed the cases of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika notified in Colombia from January 2014 to December 2018 by municipality and week. The trajectory and velocity of spread was studied using trend surface analysis, and spatio-temporal high-risk clusters for each disease in separate and for the three diseases simultaneously (multivariate) were identified using Kulldorff's scan statistics. During the study period, there were 366,628, 77,345 and 74,793 cases of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, respectively, in Colombia. The spread patterns for chikungunya and Zika were similar, although Zika's spread was accelerated. Both chikungunya and Zika mainly spread from the regions on the Atlantic coast and the south-west to the rest of the country. We identified 21, 16, and 13 spatio-temporal clusters of dengue, chikungunya and Zika, respectively, and, from the multivariate analysis, 20 spatio-temporal clusters, among which 7 were simultaneous for the three diseases. For all disease-specific analyses and the multivariate analysis, the most-likely cluster was identified in the south-western region of Colombia, including the Valle del Cauca department. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results further our understanding of emerging Aedes-borne diseases in Colombia by providing useful evidence on their potential site of entry and spread trajectory within the country, and identifying spatio-temporal disease-specific and multivariate high-risk clusters of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, information that can be used to target interventions.

Role of cytokines, chemokines, C3a, and mannose-binding lectin in the evolution of the chikungunya infection.

The pathogenesis of the severity of chikungunya infection is not yet fully understood. OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of the cytokines/chemokines and system of complement in the evolution of chikungunya infection. METHODS: In both acute and chronic phases, we measured the serum levels of 12 cytokines/chemokines and two complement mediators: mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and C3a, in 83 patients with chikungunya infection and ten healthy controls. RESULTS: During the acute phase, 75.9% of the patients developed musculoskeletal disorders, and in 37.7% of them, these disorders persisted until the chronic phase. In general, patients had higher levels of cytokines than healthy controls, with significant differences for IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and MIP-1. Most cytokines exhibited a downward trend during the chronic phase. However, only IL-10, and MIP-1 levels were significantly lower in the chronic phase. Additionally, these levels never decreased to concentrations found in healthy controls. Moreover, MBL levels were significantly higher in the acute phase compared with the chronic phase. C3a levels were significantly higher in patients with musculoskeletal disorder compared with patients without it, in both acute-phase 118.2 (66.5-252.9), and chronic phase 68.5 (64.4-71.3), P < 0.001. Interestingly, C3a levels were significantly higher when patients had a severe disease version. Besides, in the acute phase, C3a levels were higher in patients that suffer arthritis as opposed to when they suffer arthralgia, 194.3 (69.5-282.2), and 70.9 (62.4-198.8), P = 0.013, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed an immunological response that persisted until the chronic phase and the role of the complement system in the severity of the disease.

A joint spatial marked point process model for dengue and severe dengue in Medellin, Colombia.

The spatial distribution of surveillance-reported dengue cases and severity are usually analyzed separately, assuming independence between the spatial distribution of non-severe and severe cases. Given the availability of data for the individual geo-location of surveillance-notified dengue cases, we conducted a spatial analysis to model non-severe and severe dengue simultaneously, using a hierarchical Bayesian model. We fit a joint model to the spatial pattern formed by dengue cases as well as to the severity status of the cases. Results showed that age and socioeconomic status were associated with dengue presence, and there was evidence of clustering for overall cases but not for severity. Our findings inform decision making to address the preparedness or implementation of dengue control strategies at the local level.

Assessing the reporting of Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika to the National Surveillance System in Colombia from 2014-2017: A Capture-recapture analysis accounting for misclassification of arboviral diagnostics.

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya, dengue, and Zika are three different arboviruses which have similar symptoms and are a major public health issue in Colombia. Despite the mandatory reporting of these arboviruses to the National Surveillance System in Colombia (SIVIGILA), it has been reported that the system captures less than 10% of diagnosed cases in some cities. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assess the scope and degree of arboviruses reporting in Colombia between 2014-2017, we conducted an observational study of surveillance data using the capture-recapture approach in three Colombian cities. Using healthcare facility registries (capture data) and surveillance-notified cases (recapture data), we estimated the degree of reporting by clinical diagnosis. We fit robust Poisson regressions to identify predictors of reporting and estimated the predicted probability of reporting by disease and year. To account for the potential misclassification of the clinical diagnosis, we used the simulation extrapolation for misclassification (MC-SIMEX) method. A total of 266,549 registries were examined. Overall arboviruses' reporting ranged from 5.3% to 14.7% and varied in magnitude according to age and year of diagnosis. Dengue was the most notified disease (21-70%) followed by Zika (6-45%). The highest reporting rate was seen in 2016, an epidemic year. The MC-SIMEX corrected rates indicated underestimation of the reporting due to the potential misclassification bias. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reflect challenges on arboviruses' reporting, and therefore, potential challenges on the estimation of arboviral burden in Colombia and other endemic settings with similar surveillance systems.

Association of IL4R-rs1805016 and IL6R-rs8192284 polymorphisms with clinical dengue in children from Colombian populations.

BACKGROUND: Etiologic studies provide evidence that IL-4R and IL-6R receptors may play important roles in the regulatory mechanisms of the development of clinical dengue, especially in children which is a segment of the population with high severe dengue risk. Moreover, the allele frequencies and genetic associations may be influenced by the populational genetic background. Therefore, we performed a case-control study to evaluate possible associations between SNPs in IL4R and IL6R genes and clinical dengue in children from two Colombian populations. METHODS: We genotyped the rs1805016 (IL4R) and rs8192284 (IL6R) by PCR-RFLP method, in 298 symptomatic children and 648 asymptomatic controls. Three individual genetic ancestral proportions (APs) (European, Amerindian, African) were inferred by genotyping 29 AIMs (Ancestry informative markers). The variables gender, APs, and the population of origin were used like confusion variables. RESULTS: We found IL4R-rs1805016 GG genotype and G-allele carriers and IL6R-rs8192284 AA genotype associated with clinical dengue in the pooled and Huila samples. Nevertheless, we found no association of these polymorphisms in the sample of Antioquia. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we report SNPs in IL4R and IL6R genes associated with clinical dengue, which contributes to understanding the genetic susceptibility to dengue disease. Moreover, these results may be influenced by genetic background and must be evaluated through functional analysis.

Different phenotypes of non-classical monocytes associated with systemic inflammation, endothelial alteration and hepatic compromise in patients with dengue.

Although dengue can progress to severe stages, the exact causes of this phenomenon are unknown; however, the possibility of monocyte participation is acknowledged. It has been suggested that monocyte subsets (classical, intermediate and non-classical) play differential roles in dengue immunopathology. Therefore, we determined the count of monocyte subsets and obtained the clinical information of patients with dengue. We noted a significant decrease in the count of non-classical monocytes in patients compared with controls. With this finding, we focused on studying the phenotype of non-classical monocytes in the present study. An increase in activation and differentiation markers, such as CD64, CD86, the percentage of tumor necrosis factor-α+ cells and exposure of phosphatidylserine, were recorded in the non-classical monocytes of patients compared with controls. Moreover, a significant decrease in the expression of CX3CR1 with a corresponding increase in the expressions of CCR2, CCR5, CD11b and CD54 was detected in the non-classical monocytes of patients in comparison with that of the controls. Significant increases in the frequency of microparticles from endothelium and in the concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and IL-10 were noted in the plasma of patients. These findings demonstrate that in patients with dengue, non-classical monocytes are activated, exhibiting a phenotype associated with more differentiation, produces tumor necrosis factor-α and has a profile of less endothelial surveillance closer to the cellular migration. These changes were associated with hepatic compromise, endothelial alteration and high concentration of circulating cytokines. Hence, alterations of non-classical monocytes seem to be associated with the immunopathology of dengue infection.

Rapid antigen tests for dengue virus serotypes and Zika virus in patient serum.

The recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak demonstrates that cost-effective clinical diagnostics are urgently needed to detect and distinguish viral infections to improve patient care. Unlike dengue virus (DENV), ZIKV infections during pregnancy correlate with severe birth defects, including microcephaly and neurological disorders. Because ZIKV and DENV are related flaviviruses, their homologous proteins and nucleic acids can cause cross-reactions and false-positive results in molecular, antigenic, and serologic diagnostics. We report the characterization of monoclonal antibody pairs that have been translated into rapid immunochromatography tests to specifically detect the viral nonstructural 1 (NS1) protein antigen and distinguish the four DENV serotypes (DENV1-4) and ZIKV without cross-reaction. To complement visual test analysis and remove user subjectivity in reading test results, we used image processing and data analysis for data capture and test result quantification. Using a 30-µl serum sample, the sensitivity and specificity values of the DENV1-4 tests and the pan-DENV test, which detects all four dengue serotypes, ranged from 0.76 to 1.00. Sensitivity/specificity for the ZIKV rapid test was 0.81/0.86, respectively, using a 150-µl serum input. Serum ZIKV NS1 protein concentrations were about 10-fold lower than corresponding DENV NS1 concentrations in infected patients; moreover, ZIKV NS1 protein was not detected in polymerase chain reaction-positive patient urine samples. Our rapid immunochromatography approach and reagents have immediate application in differential clinical diagnosis of acute ZIKV and DENV cases, and the platform can be applied toward developing rapid antigen diagnostics for emerging viruses.

Actividad en suero de CK y CK-MB en pacientes con infección por el virus dengue / Serum activity of CK and CK-MB in patients with dengue virus infection

RESUMEN Objetivo Determinar la actividad en suero de CK y CK-MB en pacientes con dengue. Métodos Se realizó un estudio de corte en el Departamento de Antioquia. La población de estudio estuvo constituida por 54 pacientes con diagnóstico de dengue y por 10 controles sanos. A todos los participantes se les tomó muestra de suero para confirmar la infección por dengue y para hacer la medición de la actividad de CK y CK-MB. Resultados La mediana de la edad de los casos de dengue fue 18 años y la de los controles fue 28,5 años. La mitad de los pacientes con dengue (50,9 %) y ninguno del grupo control presentaron CK-MB elevada. Ningún paciente presentó miocarditis, sin embargo, se observó CK-MB elevada en 33,3 %, 44,4 % y 40 % de los casos con bradicardia, taquicardia e hipotensión respectivamente. En 29,6 % de los pacientes con dengue se detectó CK elevada, en contraste con 10 % en el grupo control. Se observó actividad de CK en pacientes con dengue con presencia de síntomas como vómito, hematemesis y dolor abdominal, 87,5 %, 60 % y 50 % respectivamente. Conclusiones En este estudio ningún paciente con dengue presentó cardiopatía o miositis, sin embargo, el hecho de encontrar mayor frecuencia de CK y CK-MB elevadas en los pacientes con dengue con respecto al grupo control, sugiere compromiso del músculo estriado y cardíaco en este grupo. Por esta razón sería pertinente el monitoreo de estas enzimas en pacientes con dengue como parte de la evolución de la enfermedad.(AU)

ABSTRACT Objective To determine the serum activity of CK and CK-MB in patients with dengue infection. Methods A cross section study was conducted in the State of Antioquia, Colombia. The study population consisted in 54 patients with diagnosis of dengue infection and 10 healthy controls. A blood sample was taken from all participants to confirm dengue infection and to measure the activity of CK and CK-MB. Results The median age of dengue cases was 18 years and the median age of healthy controls was 28.5 years. Half of dengue patients (50.9 %) had elevated levels of CK-MB, in contrast with the healthy controls in which none presented increase of this enzyme. No patient presented myocarditis; however, elevated CK-MB was observed in 33.3 %, 44.4 % and 40 % of cases with bradycardia, tachycardia and hypotension respectively. In 29.6 % of the dengue patients, high level of CK was detected, in contrast to 10 % in the control group. Activity of CK elevated was observed in dengue patients with symptoms such as vomiting, hematemesis and abdominal pain, 87.5 %, 60 % and 50 %, respectively. Conclusions In this study, no patient with dengue infection had heart disease or myositis; however, the finding of a higher frequency of elevated level CK and CK-MB in the dengue patients compared to the control group suggests the involvement of the striated muscle and of the cardiac muscle in this group. For this reason, the monitoring of these enzymes should be considered as part of the monitoring of patients with dengue.(AU)

[Serum activity of CK and CK-MB in patients with dengue virus infection]. / Actividad en suero de CK y CK-MB en pacientes con infección por el virus dengue.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the serum activity of CK and CK-MB in patients with dengue infection. METHODS: A cross section study was conducted in the State of Antioquia, Colombia. The study population consisted in 54 patients with diagnosis of dengue infection and 10 healthy controls. A blood sample was taken from all participants to confirm dengue infection and to measure the activity of CK and CK-MB. RESULTS: The median age of dengue cases was 18 years and the median age of healthy controls was 28.5 years. Half of dengue patients (50.9 %) had elevated levels of CK-MB, in contrast with the healthy controls in which none presented increase of this enzyme. No patient presented myocarditis; however, elevated CK-MB was observed in 33.3 %, 44.4 % and 40 % of cases with bradycardia, tachycardia and hypotension respectively. In 29.6 % of the dengue patients, high level of CK was detected, in contrast to 10 % in the control group. Activity of CK elevated was observed in dengue patients with symptoms such as vomiting, hematemesis and abdominal pain, 87.5 %, 60 % and 50 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, no patient with dengue infection had heart disease or myositis; however, the finding of a higher frequency of elevated level CK and CK-MB in the dengue patients compared to the control group suggests the involvement of the striated muscle and of the cardiac muscle in this group. For this reason, the monitoring of these enzymes should be considered as part of the monitoring of patients with dengue.

OBJETIVO: Determinar la actividad en suero de CK y CK-MB en pacientes con dengue. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio de corte en el Departamento de Antioquia. La población de estudio estuvo constituida por 54 pacientes con diagnóstico de dengue y por 10 controles sanos. A todos los participantes se les tomó muestra de suero para confirmar la infección por dengue y para hacer la medición de la actividad de CK y CK-MB. RESULTADOS: La mediana de la edad de los casos de dengue fue 18 años y la de los controles fue 28,5 años. La mitad de los pacientes con dengue (50,9 %) y ninguno del grupo control presentaron CK-MB elevada. Ningún paciente presentó miocarditis, sin embargo, se observó CK-MB elevada en 33,3 %, 44,4 % y 40 % de los casos con bradicardia, taquicardia e hipotensión respectivamente. En 29,6 % de los pacientes con dengue se detectó CK elevada, en contraste con 10 % en el grupo control. Se observó actividad de CK en pacientes con dengue con presencia de síntomas como vómito, hematemesis y dolor abdominal, 87,5 %, 60 % y 50 % respectivamente. CONCLUSIONES: En este estudio ningún paciente con dengue presentó cardiopatía o miositis, sin embargo, el hecho de encontrar mayor frecuencia de CK y CK-MB elevadas en los pacientes con dengue con respecto al grupo control, sugiere compromiso del músculo estriado y cardíaco en este grupo. Por esta razón sería pertinente el monitoreo de estas enzimas en pacientes con dengue como parte de la evolución de la enfermedad.

Evaluation of Commercially Available Assays for Diagnosis of Acute Dengue in Schoolchildren During an Epidemic Period in Medellin, Colombia.

During an active surveillance study in school children in Medellin, we assessed the performance of two diagnostic strategies for dengue virus. A total of 41 patients with suspected dengue acute infection were evaluated. Diagnostic strategies consisted of one combining Panbio(®) Dengue virus IgM and IgG Capture ELISAs (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and another using a commercial rapid SD Bioline Dengue Duo (IgG/IgM + NS1 Ag) test. These two strategies were compared with the enzyme-linked immunospot microneutralization test (ELISPOT-MNT). The sensitivity and specificity were 53.9% and 80.0% for the combination of Panbio(®) ELISAs and RT-PCR tests, and 30.8% and 73.3% for the SD Bioline Duo test, respectively. ELISPOT-MNT detected 16.4% additional cases and revealed the presence of neutralizing antibodies in all the acute samples, evidencing that they were all secondary infections. In contrast, Panbio(®) and SD Dengue Duo rapid tests only classified 23.0% and 26.9% of the cases as secondary dengue infections, respectively. Cohen's kappa coefficient and McNemar's association tests demonstrated a significant disagreement between the two diagnostic strategies and ELISPOT-MNT. Overall, these results evidence the relatively poor performances of commercial assays for the diagnosis of acute and secondary dengue infections, compared with ELISPOT-MNT, and raise concern about the accuracy of these assays for the diagnostic of dengue in endemic areas.

[Knowledge and practices concerning taeniasis-cysticercosis in Colombian pig-breeders]. / Conocimiento y prácticas sobre teniasis-cisticercosis en una comunidad Colombiana.

OBJECTIVE: Describing knowledge and practices regarding taeniasis-cysticercosis and cysticercosis prevalence in the village of Andagoya, Colombia. METHODS: The study design was qualitative and quantitative. The study population consisted of pig breeders and their families, local groups and pigs. RESULTS: Study participants had partial knowledge of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex. They considered taeniasis to be an illness resulting from faecal transmission and not caused by becoming infected with cysticercosis after consuming pork. Pig breeding is not carried out in confined conditions and, although breeders know the right measures for controlling some parasitic illnesses, these practices are not observed. There was 8.7% presence of T. solium antibodies in pig breeders and their relatives and 20.9% in the pigs. CONCLUSIONS: An educational programme aimed at raising the population's awareness of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex cycle should be developed; this will facilitate control measures being applied.

Conocimiento y prácticas sobre Teniasis-cisticercosis en una comunidad colombiana / Knowledge and practices concerning taeniasis-cysticercosis in Colombian pig-breeders

Objetivo Determinar los conocimientos y prácticas sobre teniasis-cisticercosis y la frecuencia de anticuerpos contra Taenia solium en habitantes de la localidad de Andagoya, Colombia. Métodos Se realizó un estudio cualitativo-cuantitativo. Las poblaciones de estudio fueron los criadores de cerdos y sus familias, población local y cerdos. Resultados La población tiene un conocimiento parcial del complejo teniasis-cisticercosis. Identifica la cisticercosis como una enfermedad sólo del cerdo y no del humano, considera la teniasis como una enfermedad de transmisión fecal y no ocasionada por el consumo de carne de cerdo con cisticercosis. La crianza de cerdos no se hace en confinamiento y aunque se conocen los hábitos higiénicos para el control de enfermedades parasitarias su cumplimiento no es adecuado. La presencia de anticuerpos contra T. solium en los criadores de cerdos y sus familiares fue del 8,7 por ciento y en los cerdos del 20,9 por ciento. Conclusión Se debe desarrollar un programa educativo sobre teniasis-cisticercosis que permita sensibilizar a la población para el conocimiento y la aplicación de medidas de control.

Objective Describing knowledge and practices regarding taeniasis-cysticercosis and cysticercosis prevalence in the village of Andagoya, Colombia. Methods The study design was qualitative and quantitative. The study population consisted of pig breeders and their families, local groups and pigs. Results Study participants had partial knowledge of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex. They considered taeniasis to be an illness resulting from faecal transmission and not caused by becoming infected with cysticercosis after consuming pork. Pig breeding is not carried out in confined conditions and, although breeders know the right measures for controlling some parasitic illnesses, these practices are not observed. There was 8.7 percent presence of T. solium antibodies in pig breeders and their relatives and 20.9 percent in the pigs. Conclusions An educational programme aimed at raising the population's awareness of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex cycle should be developed; this will facilitate control measures being applied.

Serum levels of cytokines in two ethnic groups with dengue virus infection.

This study compared the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) in 78 Colombian patients, from two ethnic groups, with dengue virus infection. TNF-alpha levels were significantly higher in Afro-Colombians than in Mestizos and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in Mestizos than in Afro-Colombians, during the acute phase. IFN-gamma levels were similar in both ethnic groups. Significantly higher TNF-alpha levels were found in Afro-Colombians than in Mestizos in both dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). The IL-6 levels were higher in Mestizos than in Afro-Colombians among patients with DF, but levels of this cytokine were higher in Afro-Colombians than in Mestizos among patients with DHF. Levels of IFN-gamma were higher in patients with DHF than DF. Higher levels of these cytokines were observed in secondary infection. These results suggest that ethnicity may contribute to differences in immune responses to dengue infections.

Dengue en el embarazo: efectos en el feto y el recién nacido / Neonatal and postnatal effects of dengue infection during pregnancy

El riesgo de infección por el virus del dengue durante el embarazo se está incrementando ante mayores y más severas epidemias, y las consecuencias sobre el feto y el recién nacido han sido poco estudiadas y, en otros casos, los resultados han sido contradictorios. Por esta razón, se realizó en Medellín un estudio de cohorte retrospectiva, cuyo objetivo fue determinar los efectos que produce el dengue durante el embarazo sobre el feto y el recién nacido. En dicho estudio se evaluaron 22 recién nacidos hijos de mujeres que presentaron dengue durante la epidemia de 1998 y se compararon con 24 recién nacidos, hijos de mujeres embarazadas sin dengue. En la cohorte con dengue se encontraron 3 niños prematuros, 3 niños con sufrimiento fetal y 4 niños con bajo peso al nacer. En la cohorte no expuesta no se encontraron niños con estos problemas. El desarrollo psicomotor fue normal en ambos grupos. De las observaciones anteriores, sólo fue estadísticamente significativa la frecuencia de niños con bajo peso al nacer (prueba exacta de Fisher, p=0,045). Estos resultados preliminares muestran que los recién nacidos de madres que sufrieron dengue durante la gestación tuvieron riesgo de bajo peso al nacer y presentaron con mayor frecuencia prematurez y sufrimiento fetal, aunque se requiere aumentar el tamaño de la muestra para confirmar estos resultados. Sin embargo, es necesario estrechar la vigilancia a las madres embarazadas con dengue dados los efectos nocivos sobre la evolución del recién nacido.

[Prenatal and postnatal effects of dengue infection during pregnancy]. / Dengue en el embarazo: efectos en el feto y el recién nacido.

The risk of dengue virus infection during pregnancy has increased due to the current rash of frequent and severe dengue epidemics. The effects of dengue virus in the fetus and newborn children have been studied only superficially and with contradictory results. Therefore, a retrospective cohort study was conducted in Medellin, Colombia, to describe the fetal and postnatal effects of dengue virus infection acquired during pregnancy. Twenty-two babies born from mothers who suffered dengue during the epidemics of 1998 were compared with babies from non-infected mothers. In the exposed cohort, three premature births occurred, three children suffered from fetal anomalies and four children were born with low weight. In the non-exposed children, none of these problems were found. Psychomotor development was normal in both groups. Only the low weight subgroup was statistically significant (Fisher test, p = 0.045). These results suggested that the children from women with dengue during pregnancy present low weight, greater frequency of premature birth and increased fetal distress. A larger sample is necessary to confirm these results.

Encuesta seroepidemiológica de pian en la Costa Pacífica colombiana / Yaws seroepidemiological survey in the Pacific Coast of Colombia

El pian ha sido endémico en la Costa Pacífica colombiana, pero actualmente su frecuencia real es desconocida, razón por la cual se realizó un estudio en las comunidades de esta zona del país donde se habían conocido casos de pian. Se hizo búsqueda activa de casos clínicos sospechosos a través de examen físico de personas con problemas dermatológicos: a todos ellos se les practicaron exámenes serológicos de VDRL y FTA-ABS. Por cada caso clínico sospechoso de pian, se estudiaron - por clínica y serología - 4 contanctos intradomiciliarios y 42 contactos extradomiciliarios. De las 1.830 personas examinadas, sólo 6 fueron reactivas a las pruebas de VDRL y FTA-ABS, lo cual representa una prevalencia de treponematosis de 0,3 por ciento. Ninguna de las pruebas serológicas fue reactiva en los casos clínicos sospechosos de pian. Esto nos lleva a concluir que, en la Costa Pacífica colombiana, el pian no es un problema de salud pública y que se registran como pian otras enfermedades cuando el diagnóstico tiene sólo bases clínicas