Spotted fever is a tick-borne rickettsial disease. In Brazil, its notification to the Ministry of Health is compulsory. Since 2007, cases of spotted fever have been integrated to the Notifiable Diseases Information System, and epidemiological analyzes are part of the routines on surveillance programs. This descriptive study updates epidemiological information on cases of spotted fever registered in Brazil between 2007 and 2015. In Brazil, 17,117 suspected cases of the disease were reported and 1,245 were confirmed in 12 states, mainly in São Paulo (550, 44.2 %) and Santa Catarina (276, 22.2 %). No geographic information was registered for 132 cases (10.6 %). Most of the infected people were men (70.9 %), mainly in rural areas (539, 43.3 %), who had contact with ticks (72.7 %). A higher number of suspected cases were registered between 2011 and 2015, but the number of confirmed cases and the incidence were relatively low. Moreover, 411 deaths were registered between 2007 and 2015, mainly in the southeastern region of the country, where the case-fatality rate was 55 %. Lack of proper filling of important fields of notification forms was also observed. The results showed expansion of suspected cases of spotted fever and high case-fatality rates, which could be related to diagnostic difficulties and lack of prompt treatment. These factors may comprise limitations to the epidemiological surveillance system in Brazil, hence improvement of notification and investigation are crucial to reduce morbidity and mortality due to spotted fever in Brazil.

Objetivo: analisar o perfil epidemiológico d­as doenças respiratórias e os indicadores socioeconômicos e de assistência em saúde da região Norte do Brasil durante a pandemia de COVID-19. Método: estudo epidemiológico, de caráter descritivo e quantitativo, em relação ao período de janeiro de 2010 a fevereiro de 2020. Os dados foram coletados no DATASUS e no boletim epidemiológico sobre a COVID-19 do Ministério da Saúde. Os resultados foram dispostos em números absolutos, frequência relativa e medidas de tendência central. Resultados: no período houve 1.163.303 internações, consumindo 891.494.215,40 reais. Pará e Amazonas somam 66% desses gastos. Os meses de abril, maio e junho apresentaram médias maiores de hospitalizações durante todos os anos. A faixa etária mais onerosa foi entre 60 e 69 anos. A região Norte é menos provida de médicos, leitos de UTI e respiradores. Amazonas, Amapá e Roraima têm os maiores coeficientes de incidência de COVID-19 por 1.000.000 de habitantes. Conclusão: a pandemia aumenta a vulnerabilidade socioeconômica e assistencial do sistema de saúde do Norte brasileiro, com sobrecarga e número de óbitos crescente. Portanto, há necessidade urgente de realocar recursos e reorganizar a rede de atenção à saúde.

Rickettsioses are re-emerging vector-borne zoonoses with a global distribution. Recently, Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest has been associated with new human spotted-fever (SF) cases in Brazil, featuring particular clinical signs: eschar formation and lymphadenopathy. These cases have been associated with the tick species, Amblyomma ovale . From 2010 until 2015, the Brazilian Health Department confirmed 11 human SF cases in the Maciço de Baturité region, Ceará, Brazil. The present study reports the circulation of Rickettsia spp. in vectors from this entirely new endemic area for SF. A total of 1,727 ectoparasites were collected in this area from the environment, humans, and wild and domestic animals. Samples ( n = 887) were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), targeting the glt A and omp A rickettsial genes. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of glt A gene amplicons were carried out for 13 samples positive for both screening PCRs. Fragments of glt A and omp A from three samples were cloned, sequenced, and analyzed further. A. ovale and Rhipicephalus sanguineus specimens, collected from dogs, were found to be infected with Rickettsia sp. str. Atlantic rainforest, suggesting the importance of dogs in the epidemic cycle. Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, Rickettsia felis , and Rickettsia bellii were also found infecting ticks and fleas in five municipalities, demonstrating the broad diversity of rickettsiae in circulation in the studied area. This study reports, for the first time, evidence of infection with Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest in A. ovale and R. sanguineus in Ceará, and Ca. R. andeanae in an Atlantic rainforest environment of Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic brings to light the reality of the Brazilian health system. The underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), where the second largest population of the country is concentrated, reveals government unpreparedness, as there is a low capacity of testing in the population, which prevents the real understanding of the general panorama of SARS-CoV-2 dissemination. The goals of this research are to analyze the causes of deaths in different Brazilian government databases (Civil Registry Transparency Portal and InfoGripe) and to assess whether there are sub-records showing an unexpected increase in the frequency of deaths from causes clinically similar to COVID-19. A descriptive and quantitative analysis of the number of deaths by COVID-19 and similar causes was performed in different databases. Our results demonstrate that different official sources had a discrepancy of 109.45% between these data referring to the same period. There was also a 758.57% increase in SARI deaths in 2020, when compared to the average of previous years. Finally, it was shown that there was an increase in the rate of pneumonia and respiratory insufficiency (RI) by 6.34 and 6.25%, respectively. In conclusion, there is an underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in MG due to the unexplained excess of deaths caused by SARI, respiratory insufficiency, and pneumonia compared to previous years.

Introdução: A febre maculosa (FM) é uma doença infecciosa, aguda, transmitida por carrapatos, e de gravidade variável. No Brasil, recentemente, tem sido descrita uma nova FM causada por Rickettsia parkeri, cujo perfil clínico, epidemiológico e laboratorial é diferente do perfil da FM causada por Rickettsia rickettsii. Metodologia: trata-se de uma revisão narrativa cujo objetivo é caracterizar a febre maculosa causada por Rickettsia parkeri no Brasil, discutindo as condutas de vigilância epidemiológica, diagnóstico e tratamento. Resultados: A febre maculosa por Rickettsia parkeri no Brasil é produzida, principalmente, pela R. parkeri cepa Mata Atlântica, presente no bioma Mata Atlântica das regiões Sul, Sudeste e Nordeste, onde o carrapato Amblyomma ovale figura como o principal vetor da doença. A suspeição clínica e epidemiológica deve considerar os pacientes que apresentam doença febril e presença da escara de inoculação, associadas à visita em área de mata e ou contatos com carrapatos. A coleta de material biológico (que inclua a escara de inoculação) deve ser realizada, oportunamente, para a caracterização do agente etiológico. O tratamento com antibioticoterapia deve ser iniciado já no início dos sintomas, e todos os casos devem ser notificados ao Ministério da Saúde e investigados imediatamente. A caracterização do ambiente de infecção é importante para melhor compreensão da ecoepidemiologia da doença e desencadeamento de medidas de prevenção e controle. Conclusão: Estabelecemos um protocolo para os profissionais de saúde com as condutas de vigilância epidemiológica, diagnóstico e tratamento para febre maculosa causada por Rickettsia parkeri no Brasil.