Background There are few surveillance studies analyzing genotypes or primary (transmitted) drug resistance in HIV-infected blood donors in Brazil. The aim of this study was to characterize patterns of HIV genotypes and primary resistance among HIV seropositive donors identified at 4 geographically dispersed blood centers in Brazil. Methods All HIV-infected donors who returned for counseling at the 4 REDS-II Hemocenters in Brazil from January 2007–March 2011 were invited to participate in a case-control study involving a questionnaire on risk factors. Viral sequencing was also offered to positive cases to assign genotypes and to detect and characterize primary resistance to RT and protease inhibitors according to WHO guidelines. Results Of the 341 HIV seropositive donors who consented to participate in the risk-factor and genetics study, pol sequences were obtained for 331 (97%). Clade B was predominant (76%) followed by F (15%) and C (5%). Primary resistance was present in 36 (12.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 8.2,15.5) of the 303 individuals not exposed to antiretroviral therapy (ART), varying from 8.2% (95%CI 2,7,13.6) in Recife to 19.4% in São Paulo (95%CI 9.5,29.2); there were no significant correlations with other demographics or risk factors. Conclusion Although subtype B remains the most prevalent genotype in all 4 areas, increasing rates of subtype C in Sao Paulo and F in Recife were documented relative to earlier reports. Transmitted drug resistance was relatively frequent, particularly in the city of Sao Paulo which showed an increase compared to previous HIV seropositive donor data from 10 years ago.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a prevalência de adultos infectados por L. L. chagasi entre doadores de sangue do Hemocentro Regional de Montes Claros/MG .Realizou-se estudo epidemiológico, transversal e quantitativo, no período de 16/09/08 a 13/11/08. Participaram da pesquisa 421 doadores aptos na triagem clínica, sendo realizada imunofluorescência indireta para L.L.chagasi. Aqueles que apresentaram resultados positivos foram submetidos ao teste rápido antígeno-específico para Leishmania donovani. A análise das variáveis gênero, faixa etária, procedência, número de doações, resultados sorológicos para leishmaniose e chagas, foi realizada pelos testes estatísticos qui-quadrado (x2), x2 com tendência linear e teste Fisher. Foi considerado o nível de significância de 5% (p<0,05). O perfil da amostra foi semelhante ao perfil geral dos doadores. Os participantes, em sua maioria procedentes da zona urbana (92,7%), residentes em Montes Claros (67,9%), homens (61,3%), com faixa etária de 18 a 29 anos. Em relação aos resultados sorológicos, 23 (5,5%) apresentaram positividade para imunofluorescência indireta e nenhum destes foi positivo no teste rápido. Ao comparar os resultados da imunofluorescência para leishmaniose e a sorologia Elisa chagas, dois foram positivos para ambos os testes, sendo demonstrada correlação estatística significante (p=0,003). Porém, 21 foram positivos para leishmaniose e negativos para chagas. Os resultados permitiram conhecer a prevalência da infecção por L. l. chagasi em indivíduos assintomáticos, adultos, doadores de sangue do Hemocentro Regional de Montes Claros/MG e apontam para a necessidade de maiores estudos quanto ao possível risco de transmissão transfusional da doença. Rev. Bras. Hematol. Hemoter.

Abstract. Beekeeping in Brazil is growing but also associated with an increase in the number of human and animal accidents involved. In particular, bees of the Apis mellifera species (Africanized bees) are known for their aggressive behaviour and frequent swarming activity due to their poor adaptation to the human environment. This study analyzed the spatial distribution of occurrences of migratory swarms of A. mellifera and recorded apicultural accidents in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The association of demographic and climatic variations on places where the swarms occurred was also evaluated. The study is based on data collected within the frame of the "SOS Bees", a project initiated for the protection of the environment and enforced by a special unit of the military police in Bahia. In the 3-year period from 2000 to 2003, 590 swarms were registered in 75 of the 98 zones of information of Salvador. Three cluster areas, representing 25.4% of all events, were identified. In that period, 316 apicultural accidents were registered involving humans and one involving dogs. The seasonal rise of the monthly average temperature showed an association with the increase of the number of swarming events.

The context of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the structural inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced by black communities in the world, and in Brazil it is no different. The data generated in Brazil demonstrate that Brazilian inequality is alarming. Underreporting, non-prioritization of data that consider the variable race and color, and social groups in social vulnerability, help the unequal instrumentalization of epidemiological surveillance; many deaths from the black population are not being accounted for. Structural racism and the invisibility of the black population have been intensified with the pandemic. There is emerging evidence that COVID-19 may disproportionately affect black people, who in addition to the vulnerability resulting from socio-spatial conditions, appear to be more susceptible to contamination with a more serious and lethal outcome. Finally, biological differences, such as impaired functioning of the immune response, can be increased by structural racism. In this sense, we reinforce that possible relationships between social and biological vulnerabilities of black communities and the SARS-CoV-2 infection pandemic need to be considered and investigated.