Visceral Leishmaniasis is the most severe form of disease caused by the Leishmania donovani complex, with significant morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Worse outcomes occur among HIV-positive individuals coinfected with Leishmania. It is unclear, however, if there are significant differences on presentation between Visceral Leishmaniasis patients with or without HIV coinfection. We reviewed medical records from adult patients with Visceral Leishmaniasis treated at a reference healthcare center in Fortaleza - Ceará, Brazil, from July 2010 to December 2013. Data from HIV-coinfected patients have been abstracted and compared to non-HIV controls diagnosed with Visceral Leishmaniasis in the same period. Eighty one HIV-infected patients and 365 controls were enrolled. The diagnosis in HIV patients took significantly longer, with higher recurrence and death rates. Kala-azar's classical triad (fever, constitutional symptoms and splenomegaly) was less frequently observed in Visceral Leishmaniasis-HIV patients, as well as jaundice and edema, while diarrhea was more frequent. Laboratory features included lower levels of hemoglobin, lymphocyte counts and liver enzymes, as well as higher counts of blood platelets and eosinophils. HIV-infected patients were diagnosed mainly through amastigote detection on bone marrow aspirates and treated more often with amphotericin B formulations, whereas in controls, rK39 was the main diagnostic tool and pentavalent antimony was primarily used for treatment. Clinical and laboratory presentation of Visceral Leishmaniasis in HIV-coinfected patients may differ from classic kala-azar, and these differences may be, in part, responsible for the delay in diagnosing and treating leishmaniasis, which might lead to worse outcomes.

We describe six cases of healthcare professionals in Brazil who recovered but again presented symptoms consistent with COVID-19, with new positive reverse transcription (RT)-PCR test results. The cases reported herein presented symptom onset between March 16, 2020 and April 9, 2020. All were health professionals (four medical doctors), five were female, with a median age of 43.5 years, and three had comorbidities. All patients were confirmed for SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-PCR in naso and/or oropharyngeal swab samples. Among the reported cases, three (50%) underwent RT-PCR testing in the period between the two symptomatic episodes, with negative results. The time elapsed between the onset of symptoms in the two episodes ranged from 53 to 70 days (median, 56.5 days). In the first episode, the main symptoms described were fever (4/6), myalgia (3/6), sore throat (3/6), and cough (3/6). Meanwhile, during the second episode, fever (4/6) and weakness (3/6) predominated. Most of the cases progressed without complications, although one individual presented hypoxemia (minimum SatO(2) of 90%) in both episodes, and two, only in the second, one of which required intensive care unit admission, progressing with improvement after medication and receiving noninvasive ventilatory support. We report cases with recurrence of symptoms compatible with COVID-19, with positive RT-PCR results, that could represent the occurrence of viral reactivation or reinfection. The true nature of this phenomenon should be better clarified in future studies.

Dengue is endemic in Brazil. The dengue surveillance system’s reliance on passive reporting may underestimate disease incidence and cannot detect asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic cases. In this 3-year prospective cohort study (NCT01391819) in 5- to 13-year-old children from nine schools in Fortaleza (N = 2,117), we assessed dengue virus (DENV) infection seroprevalence by IgG indirect ELISA at yearly visits and disease incidence through active and enhanced passive surveillance. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and DENV IgM/IgG capture ELISA were used for diagnosis. We further characterized confirmed and probable cases with a plaque reduction neutralization test. At enrollment, 54.1% (95% CI: 46.6, 61.4) of children were DENV IgG positive. The annual incidence of laboratory-confirmed symptomatic dengue cases was 11.0 (95% CI: 7.3, 14.7), 18.1 (10.4, 25.7), and 10.2 (0.7, 19.7), and of laboratory-confirmed or probable dengue cases with neutralizing antibody profile evocative of dengue exposure was 13.2 (6.6, 19.9), 18.7 (5.3, 32.2), and 8.4 (2.4, 19.2) per 1,000 child-years in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. By RT-qPCR, we identified 14 DENV-4 cases in 2012–2013 and seven DENV-1 cases in 2014. During the course of the study, 32.8% of dengue-naive children experienced a primary infection. Primary inapparent dengue infection was detected in 20.3% (95% CI: 13.6, 29.1) of dengue-naive children in 2012, 8.7% (6.9, 10.9) in 2013, and 5.1% (4.4, 6.0) in 2014. Our results confirmed the high dengue endemicity in Fortaleza, with active and enhanced passive surveillance detecting three to five times more cases than the National System of Disease Notification.

Background: HBV (Hepatitis B Virus) and HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) infections are more prevalent in vulnerable populations than the general population. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in HIV-positive patients (GI), chronic renal failure (CRF) patients (GII) and coagulation disorder individuals (GIII). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2014 to March 2015. Serum samples were tested for markers of hepatitis B and C by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sociodemographic, epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data and accompanying statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info™ 7. Results: A total of 348 individuals were recruited, i.e., 154 HIV-positive, 143 CRF and 51 coagulopathy patients. Among them, more than 66% were men, and the predominant age group was 26–35 years in GI and 56–65 years in GIII. Most patients had more than 8 years of education (66.2% in GI, 60.6% in GIII and 46.1% in GII), with a family income between 100–400 dollars in more than 48% of patients. The prevalence of the HBsAg marker was 3.9%, 7% and 3.9%, total anti-HBc was 28.6%, 55.9% and 31.4%, and anti-HCV was 1.3%, 12.6% and 47% for GI, GII and GIII, respectively. However, the prevalence of anti-HBs was greater than 70% in all groups. Conclusions: This study shows a high prevalence of HBV and HCV among specific groups compared to the general population. Factors such as age, income, number of sexual partners, sexually transmitted disease burden, blood transfusion history or blood products and blood transfusions before 1994 were associated with a higher prevalence for these infections.