Health in the Legal Amazon: an analysis of morbidity and mortality indicators between 2010 e 2021.

We carried out the health situation analysis in the Legal Amazon through morbidity and mortality indicators and the comparison between intra and inter-state federation of the region and Brazil. Analysis of the health situation, trends, and identification of clusters in the Brazilian Amazon, for the period from 2010 to 2021, using secondary data available in official health information systems. Circulatory diseases were the main cause of death, representing 23% of deaths.

Assessing over decadal biomass burning influence on particulate matter composition in subequatorial Amazon: literature review, remote sensing, chemical speciation and machine learning application.

A study on aerosols in the Brazilian subequatorial Amazon region, Tangará da Serra (TS) and Alta Floresta (AF) was conducted and compared to findings in an additional site with background characteristics (Manaus, AM). TS and AF counties suffer from intense biomass burning periods in the dry season, and it accounts for high levels of particles in the atmosphere. Chemical characterization of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM) was performed to quantify water-soluble ions (WSI) and black carbon (BC).

Intra-urban differences underlying leprosy spatial distribution in central Brazil: geospatial techniques as potential tools for surveillance.

This ecological study identified an aggregation of urban neighbourhoods spatial patterns in the cumulative new case detection rate (NCDR) of leprosy in the municipality of Rondonópolis, central Brazil, as well as intra-urban socioeconomic differences underlying this distribution. Scan statistics of all leprosy cases reported in the area from 2011 to 2017 were used to investigate spatial and spatiotemporal clusters of the disease at the neighbourhood level. The associations between the log of the smoothed NCDR and demographic, socioeconomic, and structural characteristics were explored by comparing multivariate models based on ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, spatial lag, spatial error, and geographically weighted regression (GWR).

Integrated control of neglected tropical diseases in Brazil: document review of a national campaign in light of WHO recommendations.

Objective: To describe the results of a national campaign aimed at the integrated control of neglected tropical diseases in Brazil in light of the World Health Organization (WHO) official documentation related to the integration of strategies for the prevention, control, and elimination or eradication of neglected tropical diseases.

Methods: A document review that included official WHO documents published between 2007 and 2020 and campaign results extracted from the official technical report produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Health.

Results: The integrated control of neglected tropical diseases was gradually incorporated in the WHO documentation over time.

Air pollution from forest burning as environmental risk for millions of inhabitants of the Brazilian Amazon: an exposure indicator for human health.

In this study, we propose an indicator of air pollution exposure to identify potential hazardous areas for human health in the Amazon and Central-West Regions of Brazil from 2010 to 2019. This indicator aggregates both concentrations and time of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), according to the current limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Self-reported clinical history of misdiagnosed leprosy cases in the State of Mato Grosso, Brzil, 2016-2019.

This study aimed to analyze the self-reported clinical history of patients misdiagnosed with leprosy in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study of new leprosy cases diagnosed in the State of Mato Grosso from 2016 to 2019, with individuals who were released from multidrug therapy due to misdiagnosis after starting treatment. Data were collected via telephone interviews.

Heat waves and mortality in the Brazilian Amazon: Effect modification by heat wave characteristics, population subgroup, and cause of death.

Background: The Brazilian Amazon faces overlapping socio-environmental, sanitary, and climate challenges, and is a hotspot of concern due to projected increases in temperature and in the frequency of heat waves. Understanding the effects of extreme events on health is a central issue for developing climate policies focused on the population's health.

Objectives: We investigated the effects of heat waves on mortality in the Brazilian Amazon, examining effect modification according to various heat wave definitions, population subgroups, and causes of death.

Implementation approaches for leprosy prevention with single-dose rifampicin: A support tool for decision making.

Background: In the past 15 years, the decline in annually detected leprosy patients has stagnated. To reduce the transmission of Mycobacterium leprae, the World Health Organization recommends single-dose rifampicin (SDR) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for contacts of leprosy patients. Various approaches to administer SDR-PEP have been piloted.

Are the clinical features of leprosy and American tegumentary leishmaniasis worse in patients with both diseases?

This cross-sectional population-based study compared clinical features of leprosy and American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) in patients diagnosed with both diseases (n=414) and in those diagnosed with only leprosy (n=27,790) or only ATL (n=24,357) in Mato Grosso State, which is a hyperendemic area for both diseases in Midwest Brazil. All new cases of leprosy and ATL reported in the area from 2008 to 2017 were included. Patients diagnosed with both diseases were identified by a probabilistic linkage procedure applied to leprosy and ATL databases of the national reporting system.

Spatio-temporal analysis of leprosy risks in a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso-Brazilian Amazon: results from the leprosy post-exposure prophylaxis program in Brazil.

Background: Leprosy post-exposure prophylaxis (LPEP) with single dose rifampicin (SDR) can be integrated into different leprosy control program set-ups once contact tracing has been established. We analyzed the spatio-temporal changes in the distribution of index cases (IC) and co-prevalent cases among contacts of leprosy patients (CP) over the course of the LPEP program in one of the four study areas in Brazil, namely the municipality of Alta Floresta, state of Mato Grosso, in the Brazilian Amazon basin.

Methods: Leprosy cases were mapped, and socioeconomic indicators were evaluated to explain the leprosy distribution of all leprosy cases diagnosed in the period 2016-2018.

Leprosy and cutaneous leishmaniasis affecting the same individuals: A retrospective cohort analysis in a hyperendemic area in Brazil.

Background: Leprosy and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affecting the skin. Their control is challenging but the integration of skin NTDs control programs is recommended to improve timely detection and treatment. However, little is known about the occurrence of leprosy and CL in the same individuals, and what are the characteristics of such patients.

Perception of cure among leprosy patients post completion of multi-drug therapy.

Background: Leprosy is a treatable disease; however, the release from treatment after completion of multidrug therapy (MDT) often does not equal absence of health problems. Consequently, sequelae interfere with the patient's perception of cure. The objective of this study was to analyze the factors associated with the perception of not being healed among people treated for leprosy in a highly endemic area in Brazil.

The effect of ambient temperature on blood pressure of patients undergoing hemodialysis in the Pantanal-Brazil.

The objective was to analyze the association of changes in pre-dialysis systolic and diastolic blood pressure with air temperature in a municipality in the Brazilian Pantanal, a tropical climate area. Longitudinal panel study, with analysis of mixed effects models of 133 hemodialysis patients in the city of Cáceres-Mato Grosso in 2014. Air temperature showed an inverse association with pre-dialysis systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Diversity, geographical distribution, and prevalence of Entamoeba spp. in Brazil: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The genus Entamoeba includes a variety of widely distributed species adapted to live in the digestive tracts of humans and a large variety of animals of different classes. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, distribution, and molecular epidemiology of Entamoeba spp. in different classes of hosts in Brazil.

The long-term impact of the Leprosy Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) program on leprosy incidence: A modelling study.

Background: The Leprosy Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) program explored the feasibility and impact of contact tracing and the provision of single dose rifampicin (SDR) to eligible contacts of newly diagnosed leprosy patients in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. As the impact of the programme is difficult to establish in the short term, we apply mathematical modelling to predict its long-term impact on the leprosy incidence.

Methodology: The individual-based model SIMCOLEP was calibrated and validated to the historic leprosy incidence data in the study areas.

Hyperendemicity, heterogeneity and spatial overlap of leprosy and cutaneous leishmaniasis in the southern Amazon region of Brazil.

Neglected tropical diseases characterized by skin lesions are highly endemic in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. We analyzed the spatial distribution of leprosy and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) and identified the degree of overlap in their distribution. All new cases of leprosy and CL reported between 2008 and 2017 through the national reporting system were included in the study.

Misdiagnosis of leprosy in Brazil in the period 2003 - 2017: spatial pattern and associated factors.

Background: Leprosy causes a range of symptoms, and most diagnoses are established based on the clinical picture. Therefore, false negative and positive diagnoses are relatively common. We analyzed the spatial pattern of leprosy misdiagnosis and associated factors in Brazil.

[Prevention of physical disabilities due to leprosy in Brazil: a historic analysis].

Guidelines for the prevention of physical disabilities due to leprosy have been gaining prominence in the control of the disease over and above multidrug therapy. The scope of this study is to describe the chronological changes in the technical guidelines for the prevention of physical disabilities due to leprosy in Brazil. It is a historical account based on official documents of the Brazilian health agencies.

[Incidence of venomous snakebite accidents by snake species in Brazilian biomes].

The supply of antidotes for the treatment of venomous snakebite accidents, as well as the training of the care team, should be structured according to the frequency and risks by geographical areas. The scope of this article is to analyze the trend of the incidence of snakebite accidents in Brazilian biomes between 2003 and 2012. It involved the ecological study by means of Prais-Winsten regression of the incidence of snakebites by the Bothrops, Crotalus, Lachesis and Micrurus species for the Brazilian biomes in the period from 2003 to 2012.