Since 1999, human cases of West Nile fever/neuroinvasive disease (WND) have been reported annually in Russia. The highest incidence has been recorded in three provinces of southern European Russia (Volgograd, Astrakhan and Rostov Provinces), yet in 2010–2012 the distribution of human cases expanded northwards considerably. From year to year, the number of WND cases varied widely, with major WND outbreaks in 1999, 2007, 2010, and 2012. The present study was aimed at identifying the most important climatic and environmental factors potentially affecting WND incidence in the three above-mentioned provinces and at building simple prognostic models, using those factors, by the decision trees method. The effects of 96 variables, including mean monthly temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, etc. were taken into account. The findings of this analysis show that an increase of human WND incidence, compared to the previous year, was mostly driven by higher temperatures in May and/or in June, as well as (to a lesser extent) by high August-September temperatures. Declining incidence was associated with cold winters (December and/or January, depending on the region and type of model). WND incidence also tended to decrease during year following major WND outbreaks. Combining this information, the future trend of WND may be, to some extent, predicted, in accordance with the climatic conditions observed before the summer peak of WND incidence.

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Among infectious diseases, tuberculosis is the second leading cause of mortality worldwide. Since 2000, Brazil is one of twenty two countries classified as "high burden countries" by World Health Organization. This study aims to report epidemiological and economic profile of tuberculosis related hospitalizations in Brazil. MethOds: Retrospective analysis of Brazilian public hospital admissions for tuberculosis was developed according to ICD-10 classification (A15-A19) as reported in Brazilian Hospital Information System (SIH/SUS) database, from January 2008 to December 2011. Epidemiological data were extracted from public reporting system. Costs represent federal reimbursement values for hospitalizations (medical procedures, exams, drugs and fees) estimated in 2013 Brazilian Real (BRL). Results: