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El cambio climático es uno de los principales fenómenos que están ocurriendo y son responsables por emergencias sanitarias en todo el mundo. El cambio climático ha determinado un aumento en el número de incendios forestales, debido a la combinación de condiciones cálidas y secas, con vientos, deforestación e intervención humana. Los incendios forestales, provocados por causas naturales o antropogénicas, son considerados una de las perturbaciones naturales más extendidas en los ecosistemas forestales del mundo. Se estima que la exposición al material particulado PM2,5 liberadas durante los incendios forestales se encuentran asociado a 0,68 millones de muertes/año, la mayoría de ellas en niños menores de cinco años. El transporte de PM2.5 relacionado con los incendios forestales es de gran alcance y contribuye a la mala calidad del aire incluso después de las temporadas de incendios. La actividad de incendios forestales en 2021-2022 en algunas regiones del mundo fue en una escala mucho mayor que la vista anteriormente en el conjunto de datos del Servicio de Monitoreo de la Atmósfera de Copernicus (CAMS). Así, este documento presenta diferentes informes sobre incendios forestales ocurridos en diversas partes del mundo, especialmente en América Latina, durante los años 2019-2022.

The association between symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis (RC) and allergic conjunctivitis (AC) is frequent, and AC is considered a comorbidity of asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR). Ocular symptoms are often underestimated and undertreated.Differences according to gender were reported, because girls present symptoms more frequently. The development of RC depends on genetic and environmental factors, and recent studies have indicated that gender, family history of atopy, early sensitization, food allergy, and atopic dermatitis are risk factors for allergic RC. There are six well-defined clinical forms of ocular allergy: seasonal AC, perennial AC, vernal keratoconjunctivitis, atopic keratocon-junctivitis, and contact blepharoconjunctivitis.

CD40 ligand (CD40L) deficiency is a rare inborn error of immunity presenting with heterogeneous clinical manifestations. While a detailed characterization of patients affected by CD40L deficiency is essential to an accurate diagnosis and management, information about this disorder in Latin American patients is limited. We retrospectively analyzed data from 50 patients collected by the Latin American Society for Immunodeficiencies registry or provided by affiliated physicians to characterize the clinical, laboratory, and molecular features of Latin American patients with CD40L deficiency. The median age at disease onset and diagnosis was 7 months and 17 months, respectively, with a median diagnosis delay of 1 year. Forty-seven patients were genetically characterized revealing 6 novel mutations in the CD40LG gene. Pneumonia was the most common first symptom reported (66%). Initial immunoglobulin levels were variable among patients. Pneumonia (86%), upper respiratory tract infections (70%), neutropenia (70%), and gastrointestinal manifestations (60%) were the most prevalent clinical symptoms throughout life. Thirty-five infectious agents were reported, five of which were not previously described in CD40L deficient patients, representing the largest number of pathogens reported to date in a cohort of CD40L deficient patients. The characterization of the largest cohort of Latin American patients with CD40L deficiency adds novel insights to the recognition of this disorder, helping to fulfill unmet needs and gaps in the diagnosis and management of patients with CD40L deficiency.

The COVID-19 pandemic started its outbreak in South America in mid-February 2020, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths within a period of 8 months. This ecological study aimed to investigate whether environmental factors like air quality and climate could explain the variability in COVID-19 mortality rate across 36 South American cities spanning different climate regimes. The cities’ climate and air pollution background were characterised using daily data from surface weather stations and tropospheric column NO2 from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument). Results indicate a drop in NO2 concentrations in six metropolitan areas in the first month of the epidemics, following the mobility restrictions. Temperature and NO2 exposure were positively associated with deaths by COVID-19, with mortality rate ratios (MRR) of 1.25 (95% CI 1.20–1.30) and 1.02 (95% CI 1.01–1.03), respectively, in the 100th epidemic day. The positive association between temperature and deaths related to COVID-19 suggest that the likely protective effect of temperature on virus spread was overwhelmed by the influence of socioeconomic conditions, access to health care, cultural aspects and effectiveness of social distancing policies.

An outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) started in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and quickly spread around the world. Current evidence is contradictory on the association of asthma with COVID-19 and associated severe outcomes. Type 2 inflammation may reduce the risk for severe COVID-19. Whether asthma diagnosis may be a risk factor for severe COVID-19, especially for those with severe disease or non-allergic phenotypes, deserves further attention and clarification. In addition, COVID-19 does not appear to provoke asthma exacerbations, and asthma therapeutics should be continued for patients with exposure to COVID-19. Changes in the intensity of pollinization, an earlier start and extension of the pollinating season, and the increase in production and allergenicity of pollen are known direct effects that air pollution has on physical, chemical, and biological properties of the pollen grains. They are influenced and triggered by meteorological variables that could partially explain the effect on COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is capable of persisting in the environment and can be transported by bioaerosols which can further influence its transmission rate and seasonality. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the behavior of adults and children globally. A general trend during the pandemic has been human isolation indoors due to school lockdowns and loss of job or implementation of virtual work at home. A consequence of this behavior change would presumably be changes in indoor allergen exposures and reduction of inhaled outdoor allergens. Therefore, lockdowns during the pandemic might have improved some specific allergies, while worsening others, depending on the housing conditions.

The Saharan Air Layer is a mass of hot, dry air laden with dust that forms over the Sahara and moves towards the Atlantic Ocean. This air mass contains soil dust particles emitted by the action of winds on the African continent. Between June and August, the large-scale patterns of wind circulation transport dust from the Sahara across the tropical North Atlantic Ocean, affecting parts of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, even some regions of the United States, and the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. Between December and April, wind circulation patterns facilitate dust transportation from the Sahara to the northern parts of South America and the Amazon. This dust transportation a phenomenon of interest to geosciences and public health because of the potential health impacts of dust dispersion and circulation in the atmosphere. Thus, we assessed the relationship between exposure to Saharan dust (SahD) and its implications for human health in the Americas. We performed a nonsystematic review in the PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and Scielo databases of studies published between 2000 and 2020 in Portuguese, English, French, or Spanish using the search words "Saharan dust," or "mineral dust," or "desert dust," and "human health." The available direct air pollutants measurements indicate that the pollution level in the cities affected on a constant and prolonged basis is high versus acceptable standards. Further, this review also showed that the negative health effects of SahD are sparsely studied in the Americas.

Objective: To assess risk factors for wheezing in infants in southern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study using a standardized and validated questionnaire (Estudio Internacional de Sibilancias en Lactantes - EISL, or International Study of Wheezing in Infants). Parents of infants aged 12-15 months who attended 35 of 107 health centers between August 2005 and December 2006 for regular immunization were interviewed. The association between wheezing and factors studied was made using a prevalence ratio (PR) and confidence interval of 95% (95%CI) to perform a univariate analysis. Factors associated with wheezing in the bivariate analysis were studied using Poisson regression. Results: Three thousand and three parents of infants filled out the questionnaire. The risk factors were male gender (PR = 1.14; 95%CI 1.05-1.24), history of asthma in the family [mother (PR = 1.18; 95%CI 1.04-1.33); father (PR = 1.20; 95%CI 1.05-1.39); siblings (PR = 1.23; 95%CI 1.08-1.42)], other pets in the home during pregnancy (PR = 1.28; 95%CI 1.07-1.53), age when child started daycare [0-3 months (PR = 1.15; 95%CI 0.98-1.34); 4-6 months (PR = 1.39; 95%CI 1.24-1.55); 7-12 months (PR = 1.20; 95%CI 1.07-1.35)], six or more episodes of cold (PR = 1.32; 95%CI 1.21-1.44), personal history of dermatitis (PR = 1.09; 95%CI 1.003-1.19), and mold in the home (PR = 1.14; 95%CI 1.04-1.24). Up-to-date immunization (PR = 0.79; 95%CI 0.63-0.98) and bathroom in the home (PR = 0.83; 95%CI 0.68-1.01) were protective factors. Conclusions: Independent risk factors for wheezing in the first year of life are also known risks for asthma in children and adolescents. These data are useful to predict the diagnosis of asthma and to promote its prevention (when applicable).