Since 2015 Brazil has experienced the social repercussions of the Zika virus epidemic, thus raising a debate about: difficulties of diagnosis; healthcare access for children with Zika Congenital Syndrome (ZCS); the search for benefits by affected families; social and gender inequalities; and a discussion on reproductive rights, among others. The objective of this article is to analyse access to specialized health services for the care of children born with ZCS in three North-eastern states of Brazil. This is an exploratory cross-sectional study which analyses recorded cases of microcephaly at the municipal level between 2015 and 2017. Most of the cases of ZCS were concentrated on the Northeast coast. Rio Grande do Norte and Paraiba had the highest incidence of microcephaly in the study period. The states of Bahia, Paraiba and Rio Grande do Norte were selected for their high incidence of microcephaly due to the Zika Virus. Socio-territorial vulnerability was stratified using access to microcephaly diagnosis and treatment indicators. The specialized care network was mapped according to State Health Secretaries Protocols. A threshold radius of 100 km was stablished as the maximum distance from municipalities centroids to specialised health care for children with microcephaly. Prenatal coverage was satisfactory in most of the study area, although availability of ultrasound equipment was uneven within states and health regions. Western Bahia had the lowest coverage of ultrasound equipment and lacked health rehabilitation services. ZCS's specialized health services were spread out over large areas, some of which were outside the affected patients' home municipalities, so displacements were expensive and very time consuming, representing an extra burden for the affected families. This study is the first to address accessibility of children with microcephaly to specialised health care services and points to the urgent need to expand coverage of these services in Brazil, especially in the northeastern states, which are most affected by the epidemic.

Background The epidemiological surveillance of malaria is a necessary intervention for eliminating the disease from the planet. The international border zones of the Amazon continue to be highly vulnerable to malaria since population mobility impedes elimination. Although in the past few years, cases of malaria have had an essential reduction in Brazil, this trend was not confirmed in municipalities along the border. This study aimed to establish the epidemiology of the disease during the last 13 years in Oiapoque, a Brazilian municipality at the international border with French Guiana, an overseas department, to develop strategies for the control/elimination of malaria in these areas. Results Data collected from 2003 to 2015 from the Malaria Epidemiological Surveillance System was used. It was found that, despite the important reduction in cases (68.1%), the annual parasite index remained a high epidemiological risk. The disease is seasonal in that the period of highest transmission occurs between September and December. Between 2003 and 2015, eight outbreaks were identified, with one of these lasting 15 months between August 2006 and October 2007. There were changes in the epidemiological profile, with imported cases representing 67.7% of cases from 2003 to 2007 and representing 32.9% of cases from 2008 to 2015 ( p < 0.01). The greatest number of cases was among Brazilians coming from the artisanal gold mines of French Guiana. There were also changes in the profile of autochthonous malaria with an increase in urban cases from 14.3% in 2003 to 32.3% in 2015 ( p < 0 .01). The burden of malaria in indigenous areas was also very high (67.3% in rural areas) in 2015. There were changes in the parasite species profile with a significant decrease of cases of Plasmodium falciparum ( p = 0.01). Children under 15 years old, representing 9.7% of cases at the onset of the study, accounted for 34.2% of case notifications ( p < 0.01) in 2015. Also, 74% of cases in 2003 and 55.9% in 2015 ( p < 0.01) were among men. Conclusions The fragility of local health services in cross-border areas continues to be an obstacle for malaria elimination. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s41182-019-0150-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Resumo Desde 2015 a população brasileira vive com as repercussões da epidemia de Zika, levantando o debate sobre as dificuldades de diagnóstico e acesso aos cuidados para crianças com Síndrome Congênita do Zika. As regiões Nordeste e Sudeste foram as mais atingidas, desafiando-nos a caracterizar o acesso à saúde das crianças portadoras da Síndrome Congênita do Zika nessas regiões. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a disponibilidade e a acessibilidade dos serviços de saúde para a reabilitação das crianças com Síndrome Congênita do Zika na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. A metodologia consistiu no mapeamento dos casos de Síndrome Congênita do Zika entre 2015 e 2017 na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro por bairros de residência e relacionados com a localização das unidades de reabilitação indicadas no Protocolo da Secretaria de Estado de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro. Como resultado foram identificados 202 casos de Síndrome Congênita do Zika na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro no período de 2015 a 2017. A região teve 85% de todos os casos do estado do Rio de Janeiro, o município do Rio de Janeiro concentrou 63% dos casos. A acessibilidade nesse município é a melhor se comparada com os demais da região metropolitana, dado que é a capital do estado e concentra grande parte dos serviços especializados em saúde materno-infantil.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterium in patients with cystic fibrosis and hospital acquired infections. It presents a plethora of virulence factors and antioxidant enzymes that help to subvert the immune system. In this study, we identified the 2-Cys peroxiredoxin, alkyl-hydroperoxide reductase C1 (AhpC1), as a relevant scavenger of oxidants generated during inflammatory oxidative burst and a mechanism of P. aeruginosa (PA14) escaping from killing. Deletion of AhpC1 led to a higher sensitivity to hypochlorous acid (HOCl, IC 50 3.2 ± 0.3 versus 19.1 ± 0.2 μM), hydrogen peroxide (IC 50 91.2 ± 0.3 versus 496.5 ± 6.4 μM) and the organic peroxide urate hydroperoxide. ΔahpC1 strain was more sensitive to the killing by isolated neutrophils and less virulent in a mice model of infection. All mice intranasally instilled with ΔahpC1 survived as long as they were monitored (15 days), whereas 100% wild-type and ΔahpC1 complemented with ahpC1 gene (Δ ahpC 1 attB : ahpC1 ) died within 3 days. A significantly lower number of colonies was detected in the lung and spleen of ΔahpC1 -infected mice. Total leucocytes, neutrophils, myeloperoxidase activity, pro-inflammatory cytokines, nitrite production and lipid peroxidation were much lower in lungs or bronchoalveolar liquid of mice infected with ΔahpC1 . Purified AhpC neutralized the inflammatory organic peroxide, urate hydroperoxide, at a rate constant of 2.3 ± 0.1 × 10 6 M −1 s −1 , and only the ΔahpC1 strain was sensitive to this oxidant. Incubation of neutrophils with uric acid, the urate hydroperoxide precursor, impaired neutrophil killing of wild-type but improved the killing of ΔahpC1 . Hyperuricemic mice presented higher levels of serum cytokines and succumbed much faster to PA14 infection when compared to normouricemic mice. In summary, ΔahpC1 PA14 presented a lower virulence, which was attributed to a poorer ability to neutralize the oxidants generated by inflammatory oxidative burst, leading to a more efficient killing by the host. The enzyme is particularly relevant in detoxifying the newly reported inflammatory organic peroxide, urate hydroperoxide.