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Background: Outbreaks of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) occurred in Brazil during 2015-2017. Fortaleza was the city that reported the most cases., Methods: The first round of a cohort study was conducted among women aged 15-39 y in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2018 (Zika in Fortaleza). We collected sera to detect CHIKV IgG and IgM antibodies. Factors for CHIKV infection were identified using a Poisson regression model., Results: We evaluated 1466 serum samples and 13.8% and 37.2% of women were found positive for CHIKV IgM and IgG antibodies, respectively. Living with more than four others in the same house and having an abandoned house nearby were associated with CHIKV infection. Being currently pregnant was associated with a decreased probability of CHIKV infection, which was also associated with pregnant women reporting using more repellent, both inside and outside the house, than non-pregnant women., Conclusions: Crowding in households and abandoned houses nearby can increase potential transmission. Policies providing better living conditions and regulation of abandoned sites and buildings are necessary to control the mosquito population. Programmes providing repellant at low or no cost to pregnant women should be implemented in the neighbourhoods where arbovirus infections are endemic., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Presson behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)

Background: During 2015-16 Brazil experienced the largest epidemic of Zika virus ever reported. This arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults but other neurological associations are uncertain. Chikungunya virus has caused outbreaks in Brazil since 2014 but associated neurological disease has rarely been reported here. We investigated adults with acute neurological disorders for Zika, chikungunya and dengue, another arbovirus circulating in Brazil., Methods: We studied adults who had developed a new neurological condition following suspected Zika virus infection between 1st November 2015 and 1st June 2016. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, and urine were tested for evidence of Zika, chikungunya, and dengue viruses., Results: Of 35 patients studied, 22 had evidence of recent arboviral infection. Twelve had positive PCR or IgM for Zika, five of whom also had evidence for chikungunya, three for dengue, and one for all three viruses. Five of them presented with GBS; seven had presentations other than GBS, including meningoencephalitis, myelitis, radiculitis or combinations of these syndromes. Additionally, ten patients positive for chikungunya virus, two of whom also had evidence for dengue virus, presented with a similar range of neurological conditions., Conclusions: Zika virus is associated with a wide range of neurological manifestations, including central nervous system disease. Chikungunya virus appears to have an equally important association with neurological disease in Brazil, and many patients had dual infection. To understand fully the burden of Zika we must look beyond GBS, and also investigate for other co-circulating arboviruses, particularly chikungunya.

We have developed a mobile App called ZIKATracker (zikatracker.net) to voluntarily be used to report ZIKV cases on a public or private level. As the Zika virus (ZIKV) infection zones are rapidly expanding across South, Central, and North America, and reports have emerged linking ZIKV infection with developmental defects and neurological sequelae, reporting the movement and sequelae of ZIKV is essential. ZIKATracker is a multi-lingual App (English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese) freely available to anyone worldwide wishing to report a suspected or confirmed case of Zika virus and related symptoms. Knowledge gained from the use of this App will help direct the implementation of mosquito control measures in needed areas, bring aid to those affected by the Zika virus, and understand the movement and sequelae of ZIKV as it spreads through communities and across continents.

Background: Currently, knowledge does not allow early prediction of which cases of dengue fever (DF) will progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), to allow early intervention to prevent progression or to limit severity. The objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that some specific comorbidities increase the likelihood of a DF case progressing to DHF., Methods: A concurrent case-control study, conducted during dengue epidemics, from 2009 to 2012. Cases were patients with dengue fever that progressed to DHF, and controls were patients of dengue fever who did not progress to DHF. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between DHF and comorbidities., Results: There were 490 cases of DHF and 1,316 controls. Among adults, progression to DHF was associated with self-reported hypertension (OR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.1) and skin allergy (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.2) with DHF after adjusting for ethnicity and socio-economic variables. There was no statistically significant association between any chronic disease and progression to DHF in those younger than 15 years., Conclusions: Physicians attending patients with dengue fever should keep those with hypertension or skin allergies in health units to monitor progression for early intervention. This would reduce mortality by dengue.

In the last 30 years, Parkinson's disease has been object of great progress. The majority of patients reaches a longer life with quality because of the modern therapeutic approach. However, dementia that can occur in the evolutive process, has its neuropathology not completely defined until now. There are lesions in the basal ganglia, in the ventral area of the mesencephalic tegmentum in the thalamus, in the substantia nigra and in the frontal cortex. The presence of Lewy bodies in the cortex is associated with dementia, in the same way that the anatomopathological features of Alzheimer's disease, in many cases. Dementia should have a multifactorial basis. Different types of neurotransmitters, like serotonin, acetylcholine and dopamine, or even hormones, like cortisol, may be altered in a great number of demented parkinsonians. Depression, found in up to 40% of patients, have been related as a risk factor for dementia, present approximately in 25% of cases. Studies in this area are still conflicting, with some confirming the relation among depression, cortical atrophy, hypercortisolemia and Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychologic studies show that the dementia in Parkinson's disease is of subcortical type. It is also known that parkinsonians, even those without cognitive deficiencies clinically significant, present deficits if submitted to more detailed neuropsychological tests. It is assumed, so, that cognitive impairments are intrinsic to the disease, varying its expression among patients. Dementia shall be diagnosed based on the criteria established in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders of the American Psychiatry Association, as well as computed tomography and magnetic resonance. For treatment, parkinsonian dementia does not recognize efficacious agents until now.