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The Brazilian strategy to overcome the spread of COVID-19 has been particularly criticized due to the lack of a national coordinating effort and an appropriate testing program. Here, a successful approach to control the spread of COVID-19 transmission is described by the engagement of public (university and governance) and private sectors (hospitals and oil companies) in Macaé, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city known as the National Oil Capital. In 2020 between the 17th and 38th epidemiological week, over two percent of the 206,728 citizens were subjected to symptom analysis and RT-qPCR testing by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with positive individuals being notified up to 48 h after swab collection. Geocodification and spatial cluster analysis were used to limit COVID-19 spreading in Macaé. Within the first semester after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Brazil, Macaé recorded 1.8% of fatalities associated with COVID-19 up to the 38th epidemiological week, which was at least five times lower than the state capital (10.6%). Overall, considering the successful experience of this joint effort of private and public engagement in Macaé, our data suggest that the development of a similar strategy countrywise could have contributed to a better control of the COVID-19 spread in Brazil. Quarantine decree by the local administration, comprehensive molecular testing coupled to scientific analysis of COVID-19 spreading, prevented the catastrophic consequences of the pandemic as seen in other populous cities within the state of Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere in Brazil.

Background Brazilian strategy to overcome the spread of COVID-19 has been particularly criticized due to the lack of a national coordinating effort and an appropriate testing program. Here, a successful approach to control the spread of COVID-19 transmission is described by the engagement of public (university and governance) and private sectors (hospitals and oil companies) in Macaé, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city known as the National Oil Capital. Methods Until the 38th epidemiological week, over two percent of the 206,728 citizens were subjected to symptom analysis and massive RT-qPCR testing by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with positive individuals being notified up to 48 hours after swab collection. Geocodification and spatial cluster analysis were used to limit COVID-19 spreading in Macaé. Findings: Within the first semester after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Brazil, Macaé recorded 1.8% of fatality associated to COVID-19 up to the 38th epidemiological week, which was at least five times lower than the state capital (10.92%). Overall, considering the successful experience of this joint effort of private and public engagement in Macaé, our data suggest that the development of a similar strategy country wise would have saved over 50,000 lives. Interpretation: Quarantine decree by the local government, molecular massive testing coupled to scientific analysis of COVID-19 spreading prevented the catastrophic consequences of the pandemic as seen in other populous cities within the state of Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere in Brazil.

SummaryChagas disease is estimated to affect 8 million people worldwide and is responsible for circa 10,000 deaths in Latin America every year. Vector control has been developed as the main strategy to control disease spreading. The identification of new targets is essential, and genes containing small open reading frames (smORFs - < 100 amino acids) are present as hundreds of putative new candidate targets in insect genomes. Here, we show that the prototypic smORF containing genemille-pattes/polished-rice/tarsalless(mlpt/pri/tal) is essential for post-embryonic development of the kissing bugRhodnius prolixusand for the metacyclogenesis of theTrypanosoma cruziparasite during nymphal stages. Injection of double-stranded RNA againstmlpt(Rp-dsmlpt) during nymphal stages leads to a plethora of phenotypes which impairs post-embryonic development. First, nymphs of fourth or fifth stage injected with Rp-dsmlptdo not moult. Second, vector digestive physiology is largely modified, and haemozoin is significantly increased in the posterior midgut of Rp-dsmlptnymphs. Third, Rp-mlptknockdown inhibits the metacyclogenesis ofTrypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. Thus, our study provides the first evidence of a smORF-containing gene regulating vector physiology, parasitic cycle and disease transmission.

The northern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro harbors the largest coastal sandy plains (restingas) of southeastern Brazil, severely threatened due to recent human occupation. In this context, mammal inventories becomes urgent to support biodiversity conservation and management policies. This paper aims to update the knowledge on the mammalian species richness of Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park by analyzing pellets of the Barn owl Tyto furcata. The analyses of 4745 mammalian bone fragments (1739 individuals) revealed the occurrence of 17 species belonging to the orders Rodentia (9 spp.), Didelphimorphia (2 spp.) and Chiroptera (6 spp.). The rodents Mus musculus and Cerradomys goytaca accounted for 77.2% of the total individuals preyed, suggesting that the Barn owl hunts in both disturbed and natural open shrub formations. A compilation of previous records, together with those provided in the present study, indicates the occurrence of 44 species of mammals in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, of which six (13.6%) were exclusively detected in pellets. These new records include species adapted to open formations of the interior of Brazil that were not previously reported in restingas on the basis of voucher-specimens, such as the rodents Necromys lasiurus and Calomys tener, the latter being recorded for the first time in the littoral of Rio de Janeiro state. This study underscores the importance of owl pellet analysis as a complementary and indispensable method for inventorying mammals. The results highlight the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park as one of the restingas in Southeastern Brazil with the highest number of mammal species. O litoral norte do estado do Rio de Janeiro possui a maior planície deltaica recoberta por restingas do sudeste brasileiro, porém sob intensa ameaça devido è ocupação humana recente. Neste contexto, a realização de inventários torna-se urgente para fortalecer políticas de manejo e conservação ambiental. Esse trabalho teve como objetivo complementar inventários mastofaunísticos do Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba através da utilização de pelotas da coruja suindara Tyto furcata. A análise de 4745 fragmentos ósseos de mamíferos (1739 indivíduos) revelou a ocorrência de 17 espécies pertencentes ès ordens Rodentia (9 spp.), Didelphimorphia (2 spp.) e Chiroptera (6 spp.). Os roedores Mus musculus e Cerradomys goytaca foram responsáveis por 77,2% do total de indivíduos predados, sugerindo que a suindara caça tanto em ambientes peridomiciliares perturbados como em formações naturais arbustivas da restinga. A compilação de registros anteriores com os fornecidos pelo presente estudo indica a ocorrência de 44 espécies de mamíferos no Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, dentre as quais seis (13.6%) foram exclusivamente detectadas em pelotas. Dentre estes novos registros, destaca-se a presença de espécies adaptadas a formações abertas do interior do Brasil que não tinham sua ocorrência documentada em restingas a partir de espécimes-testemunho, como os roedores Necromys lasiurus e Calomys tener, esta última registrada pela primeira vez no litoral do estado do Rio de Janeiro. Esse estudo corrobora a importância das análises de pelotas de coruja como método complementar e imprescindível em inventários de mamíferos, além de destacar o Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba como uma das restingas mais ricas em espécies de mamíferos do sudeste brasileiro.