Socioeconomic disparities associated with symptomatic Zika virus infections in pregnancy and congenital microcephaly: A spatiotemporal analysis from Goiânia, Brazil (2016 to 2020).

The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic, which was followed by an unprecedented outbreak of congenital microcephaly, emerged in Brazil unevenly, with apparent pockets of susceptibility. The present study aimed to detect high-risk areas for ZIKV infection and microcephaly in Goiania, a large city of 1.5 million inhabitants in Central-West Brazil. Using geocoded surveillance data from the Brazilian Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) and from the Public Health Event Registry (RESP-microcefalia), we analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution and socioeconomic indicators of laboratory confirmed (RT-PCR and/or anti-ZIKV IgM ELISA) symptomatic ZIKV infections among pregnant women and clinically confirmed microcephaly in neonates, from 2016 to 2020. We investigated temporal patterns by estimating the risk of symptomatic maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly per 1000 live births per month. We examined the spatial distribution of maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly cases across the 63 subdistricts of Goiania by manually plotting the geographical coordinates. We used spatial scan statistics estimated by discrete Poisson models to detect high clusters of maternal ZIKV infection and microcephaly and compared the distributions by socioeconomic indicators measured at the subdistrict level. In total, 382 lab-confirmed cases of maternal ZIKV infections, and 31 cases of microcephaly were registered in the city of Goiania. More than 90% of maternal cases were reported between 2016 and 2017. The highest incidence of ZIKV cases among pregnant women occurred between February and April 2016. A similar pattern was observed in the following year, although with a lower number of cases, indicating seasonality for ZIKV infection, during the local rainy season. Most congenital microcephaly cases occurred with a time-lag of 6 to 7 months after the peak of maternal ZIKV infection. The highest estimated incidence of maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly were 39.3 and 2.5 cases per 1000 livebirths, respectively. Districts with better socioeconomic indicators and with higher proportions of self-identified white inhabitants were associated with lower risks of maternal ZIKV infection. Overall, the findings indicate heterogeneity in the spatiotemporal patterns of maternal ZIKV infections and microcephaly, which were correlated with seasonality and included a high-risk geographic cluster. Our findings identified geographically and socio-economically underprivileged groups that would benefit from targeted interventions to reduce exposure to vector-borne infections.

Aprendizados no enfrentamento à pandemia / Lessons learned in coping with the pandemic

O novo coronavírus (SARSCoV-2) instaurou inúmeros desafios no contexto da gestão pública, não só da saúde pública, mas também da economia e da educação; e ainda nos aspectos da vida social e individual, deixando centenas de milhões de casos e milhões de mortes, transformando a realidade conhecida. Diante deste contexto este e-book buscou agregar e compilar experiências da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de Goiás (SES/GO) no enfrentamento à pandemia, nos mais diferentes aspectos da gestão em saúde (vigilância, regulação, assistência, transparência, gestão de pessoas, entre outros)

The new coronavirus (SARSCoV-2) has created numerous challenges in the context of public management, not only in public health, but also in the economy and education; and even in the aspects of social and individual life, leaving hundreds of millions of cases and millions of deaths, transforming the known reality. Given this context, this e-book sought to aggregate and compile experiences of the State Department of Health of Goiás (SES/GO) in facing the pandemic, in the most different aspects of health management (surveillance, regulation, assistance, transparency, people management , between others)