: Dengue is the most common arboviral disease in the world. Traditionally, it has affected more adults, but the incidence in children has increased in recent years. Colombia is no stranger to this change; therefore, we aimed to find the differences in signs, symptoms, and clinical, hematological, and hemogram characteristics between children under 12 years old and individuals aged 12 years and older in an endemic region of Colombia in 2020–2022. The analyses were conducted with baseline data, corresponding to a cross-sectional design. Multiple correspondence analysis was used for general, dermatological, and clinical symptom profiles. Discriminant analysis was used for laboratory profiles. Multiple correspondence analysis was applied to nominal categorical data, employing Euclidean distances to analyze age groups. Discriminant analysis was applied to a training sample and validated on a test sample. The overall agreement of the model’s discrimination, sensitivity, specificity, and fit indicators was calculated. The results indicated that individuals under 12 years exhibited distinct dermatological and clinical features, including rash, pruritus, hypotension, lymphocyte count, and platelet count, compared with those aged 12 years and older. In contrast, those 12 years and older were profiled for general and clinical symptoms such as pain (back pain, retro-orbital pain, headache), dizziness, chills, hematuria, tachypnea, and elevated/high hematocrit, hemoglobin, and basophil values. These findings are crucial to understanding the high incidence in children; they also facilitate rapid understanding of the disease in clinical care settings and differentiate it from other febrile outbreaks. This will affect disease control, particularly in severe cases, and reduce mortality.

One of the main challenges in the clinical management of dengue is the early identification of cases that could progress to severe forms of the disease. A biomarker that may enable this identification is the presence of genetic polymorphisms in genes associated with immune responses. The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review of the Latin American literature on these genes. An electronic literature search was carried out in PubMed, Scopus, Lilacs, and the Virtual Health Library, and reference lists of systematic reviews in the area. Case-control studies conducted in Latin American countries examining at least one form of genetic polymorphism related to immune responses against severe dengue were included. In total, 424 articles were identified and 26 were included in this systematic review. Of the 26 selected articles, 16 reported polymorphisms associated with the risk of developing severe dengue (Risk); Similarly, 16 articles reported polymorphisms associated with a decreased risk of severe dengue (Protective). The final analysis revealed that multiple polymorphisms in immune system genes were early markers of the progression of dengue in Latin Americans and found that polymorphisms of the TNF-alpha gene may have a critical role in dengue pathogenesis.

Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the bacteria of the Leptospira genus, which can usually be acquired by humans through contact with urine from infected animals; it is also possible for this urine to contaminate soils and bodies of water. The disease can have deadly consequences in some extreme cases. Fortunately, until now, patients with leptospirosis have responded adequately to treatment with doxycycline and azithromycin, and no cases of antibiotic resistance have been reported. However, with the extensive use of such medications, more bacteria, such as Staphylococci and Enterococci, are becoming resistant. The purpose of this study is to determine the presence of genes related to antibiotic resistance in the Leptospira genus using bioinformatic tools, which have not been undertaken in the past. Whole genomes from the 69 described Leptospira species were downloaded from NCBI’s GeneBank and analyzed using CARD (The Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistant Database) and RAST (Rapid Annotations using Subsystem Technology). After a detailed genomic search, 12 genes associated with four mechanisms were found: resistance to beta-lactamases, vancomycin, aminoglycoside adenylyltransferases, as well as multiple drug efflux pumps. Some of these genes are highly polymorphic among different species, and some of them are present in multiple copies in the same species. In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the presence of genes related to antibiotic resistance in the genomes of some species of the genus Leptospira, and it is the starting point for future experimental evaluation to determine whether these genes are transcriptionally active in some species and serovars.

Background: Arterial hypertension is one of the most prevalent chronic, non-communicable diseases and the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality worldwide. Although its primary causes and consequences are preventable, it often remains undiagnosed. Consequently, this study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with normotensive, diagnosed, and undiagnosed hypertension in adults.Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted in Sabaneta, Colombia, between 2021 and 2022, with 286 adults aged 18 and older. Stratified and systematic random sampling methods were employed. The World Health Organization STEP survey and the Perez Rojas test were utilized to assess behavioral risk factors and sedentary lifestyles. Body mass index, waist circumference, and arterial tension were measured using standardized instruments. The prevalence of hypertension was then estimated. Risk factors influencing normotensive, diagnosed, and undiagnosed hypertension were analyzed using multinomial regression. The outcome variable comprised three categories: normotensive (reference category), diagnosed hypertension, and undiagnosed hypertension. The multinomial regression coefficients were exponentiated and are presented as relative risk ratios (RRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The model was adjusted for sex and sample weight per neighborhood.Results: The study revealed a hypertension prevalence of 38.5% and an undiagnosed hypertension rate of 50.9%. Those with undiagnosed hypertension were predominantly adults over 60 years (RRR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.53–0.86), individuals with an elementary school education (RRR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.27–2.42), those physically active (RRR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.22–1.89), without prior diagnoses of chronic comorbidities (RRR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.12–1.82), and with obesity (RRR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.63–3.11) or overweight conditions (RRR = 1.70; 95% CI: 1.334–2.15).Conclusions: Undiagnosed hypertension was significant among populations without risk conditions. There is an urgent need for community-based early detection and education strategies to mitigate this issue.

Background: Dengue, chikungunya, and Zika present significant public health challenges in Colombia. Spatial studies help clarify the distribution and progression of these diseases over time and location. Objective to describe the spatio-temporal distribution and clustering patterns of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Medellín, Colombia, between 2013 and 2021, with the aim of providing baseline spatial intelligence to support future epidemiological and policy-oriented analyses. Methods: We analyzed dengue, chikungunya, and Zika cases in Medellín from 2013 to 2021, using weekly data from 27,459 geocoded cases across 265 neighborhoods. Cases were geocoded by neighborhood based on residential addresses in the national surveillance system (SIVIGILA). Spatio-temporal analysis identified high-risk clusters and examined the co-circulation of the diseases through multivariate analysis. We used scan statistics with a discrete Poisson model to detect high-risk clusters. Results: From 2013 to 2021, 26,350 dengue cases probable and confirmed were reported, with an annual incidence of 137.3 per 100,000 residents. Chikungunya and Zika emerged in 2014 and 2015, with 574 and 515 cases reported, resulting in incidences of 5.1 and 3.8 per 100,000 residents, respectively. We identified five dengue clusters and four clusters each for Zika and chikungunya, mainly in Medellín’s northeast. Multivariate analysis revealed six clusters, with four exhibiting high risk for all three diseases. Co-circulation of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika occurred between September 2015 and February 2017. Dengue clusters peaked between 2015 and 2016, while chikungunya and Zika peaks occurred in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Conclusions: This study advances understanding of spatio-temporal dynamics in arbovirus transmission in Medellín, highlighting high-risk clusters for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika and their collective presence. Our findings support targeted public health interventions to mitigate these diseases.

Background: The high prevalence of suspected early-onset neonatal sepsis among preterm infants leads to immediate antibiotic administration upon admission. Notably, most blood cultures for suspected early-onset neonatal sepsis do not yield a causative pathogen. This study aimed to assess polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the variable region V4 of the 16S ribosomal gene (16S rDNA) and Sanger sequencing for bacterial identification in preterm infants with suspected early-onset neonatal sepsis. Methods: Therefore, this prospective study was conducted. Preterm infants with suspected early-onset neonatal sepsis were included in this study. The three groups were formed based on the risk of infection and clinical sepsis. Blood samples were collected upon admission to the neonatal unit for culture and molecular analysis. PCR amplification and subsequent Sanger sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rDNA were performed. Results: Twenty-eight patients were included in this study. Blood cultures were negative in 100% of the patients. Amplification and sequencing of the V4 region identified bacterial genera in 19 patients across distinct groups. The predominant taxonomically identified genus was Pseudomonas. Conclusions: Amplifying the 16S rDNA variable region through PCR and subsequent Sanger sequencing in preterm neonates with suspected early-onset neonatal sepsis can enhance the identification of microbial species that cause infection, especially in negative cultures.