Self-rated health (SRH) is the general perception of an individual’s own health and a key indicator to measure health in population-based studies. Few studies have examined the association between perceived urban violence and SRH among young adults. There were an estimated 475,000 deaths in 2012 as a result of homicide on the world. Sixty percent of these deaths occurred among males aged 15–44 years, making homicide the third leading cause of death for this population group. This study aimed to determine and quantify the association between sex-specific perception of violence in the neighborhood and SRH among young adults. Participants included 955 young adults (18–29 years) residing in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil between 2008 and 2009. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the strength of the associations. The perceived urban violence score was constructed from variables that assessed the respondents’ insecurity and perception of fear and danger of suffering some form of violence in the neighborhood using exploratory factor analysis. 18,3% of respondents rated their health as fair/ poor/very poor. Among women, fair/ poor/very poor SRH was associated with age between 25 and 29 years, low socioeconomic status score, being dissatisfied with weight, not exercising regularly, not having a healthy diet, and having some chronic disease. Men who rated their health as fair/poor/very poor more frequently smoked, were dissatisfied with their weight, did not exercise regularly, consumed fewer fruits and vegetables, and had some chronic disease compared to men who rated their health as very good/good. In the final model, after adjusting for confounding variables, perceived violence in the neighborhood was associated with poor SRH in young women only (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04–2.21). The results indicate that public and health policies should implement interventions on the neighborhood physical and social environment to improve the perception of safety and have a positive impact on people’s health, especially women.

The Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) already has endemic circulation in about 100 countries and the number of infected patients increases every year, due to the effectiveness of the vector and human universal susceptibility to infection. The virus can also be transmitted from mother to child, more frequently intrapartum. About 50 % of neonates with CHIKV symptoms will have neurodevelopmental delay. It is therefore an infection of worldwide concern with a great impact on people's quality of life. The objective of this work is to describe two cases of confirmed vertical transmission by chikungunya virus, one of them with intrauterine infection and death of the neonate. Neonates with vertical chikungunya infection may present with clinical sepsis in the first few days of life, which is why this is a very important diagnosis, especially during outbreaks of the infection.

Objective: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis syndrome (HLHS) is characterized by an immunological hyperactivation of cytotoxic T cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages, leading to the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. HLHS associated with Visceral Leishmaniasis might be difficult to diagnose once symptoms are similar, resulting in the death of untreated patients. Our aim is to describe a series of cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis with HLHS admitted to a referral hospital for infectious diseases. Case description: All 115 cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis referred to a referral center for pediatric infectious diseases were reviewed to identify the cases of HLHS. Five cases (4.5%) were confirmed with HLHS and they presented fever, splenomegaly, cytopenia, hypertriglyceridemia or hypofibrinogenemia, increased ferritin and hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow. Comments: It important to rule out HLHS in children with infectious diseases that do not respond adequately to treatment or in patients with severe symptoms, especially in leishmaniasis endemic areas.%