People who used illicit drugs (PWUDs) represent an important population group for acquisition and viral dispersion. In Brazil, high rates of the human T lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1) and 2 (HTLV-2) have been reported in epidemiological studies. However, the epidemiological scenario of HTLV-1/2 infections in PWUDs is still poorly understood. Thus, this cross-sectional study determined the prevalence, frequency of subtypes and factors associated with HTLV-1/2 infections among PWUDs in the Brazilian state of Pará, an area considered endemic for this virus and with poor health services. Among 826 PWUDs, 53 (6.4%) presented anti-HTLV-1/2 antibodies by EIA and 44 (5.3%) presented proviral DNA by PCR. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 were detected in 25 (3.0%) and 19 (2.3%) PWUDs, respectively. Subtypes 1a (25/44), transcontinental (23/44) and Japanese subgroups (2/44), 2b (6/44) and 2c (13/44) were identified. Involvement in illicit/criminal activity, daily use of illicit drugs, illicit drug use over 12 years, unprotected sex with other PWUDs, changes in genitalia (including ulcers and wounds), and more than 12 sexual partners were associated with HTLV-1/2 in PWUDs. This high prevalence and intense circulation of subtypes and subgroups of HTLV-1/2 is very worrying, and indicate the need for urgent actions for its control, prevention and treatment.

ResumoO mercúrio é um dos poluentes com maior potencial tóxico dentre os metais pesados, fato esse que desperta uma grande preocupação por apresentar uma capacidade de biomagnificação no meio ambiente e bioacumulação em organismos vivos ao longo da cadeia trófica alimentar. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar os níveis de mercúrio presente em enlatados de Sardinella spp. e Thunnus spp. As amostras foram obtidas em dois estabelecimentos comerciais onde foram adquiridas vinte amostras, dez exemplares de cada espécie, distribuídas entre duas marcas comerciais. As análises toxicológicas de mercúrio total foram realizadas no laboratório de Toxicologia Humana e Ambiental do Núcleo de Medicina Tropical da Universidade Federal do Pará através da espectrofotometria de absorção atômica. Os resultados demonstraram uma média de 0,24 μg/g de mercúrio para as amostras de Thunnus spp e 0,06 μg/g para Sardinella spp. Apesar das concentrações médias estarem dentro do limite permitido pelas legislações vigentes, estudos para mapeamento do pescado devem ser realizados devido as diversas disposições do mercúrio no meio ambiente tendo os peixes como principal fonte de contaminação para o homem. Palavras-chave:Toxicidade. Análise Química. Exposição Ambiental. Saúde Ambiental. Concentration of total mercury in canned Sardinella spp. and Thunnus spp. marketed in the metropolitan region of Belém-Pará, Brazil AbstractMercury is one of the pollutants with the greatest toxic potential among heavy metals, a fact that arouses great concern to present a biomagnification capacity in the environment and bioaccumulation in living organisms along the food trophic chain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the levels of mercury present in canned Sardinella spp. and Thunnus spp. Samples were obtained from two commercial establishments where twenty samples were purchased, ten specimens of each species, distributed between two trade marks. The toxicological analyzes of total mercury were carried out in the laboratory of Human and Environmental Toxicology of the Nucleus of Tropical Medicine of the Federal University of