Estudo descritivo e analítico cujo objetivo foi compreender fatores relacionados à prática da higienização das mãos. Participaram 40 profissionais de enfermagem de um hospital de ensino da capital paranaense, no período de Abr a maio de 2007. Realizou-se entrevista semiestruturada baseada no Modelo de Crenças em Saúde; a análise dos dados foi realizada com auxílio de estatística descritiva e recortes dos depoimentos foram utilizados para ilustrar a opinião e valor atribuídos à prática de higienização de mãos. A maioria referiu ter participado de treinamento sobre o tema em estudo, reconheceram sua importância e a própria suscetibilidade a infecções, citaram como beneficio a prevenção desses egravos e apontaram como barreiras a falta de conhecimento e as lesões cutâneas decorrentes da higienização das mãos. O Modelo de Crenças em Saúde proporcionou reconhecimento da realidade local e pode contribuir para o planejamento das ações que visem a promoção da higienização de mãos.

This study reports the results of a systematic screening for respiratory viruses in pediatric outpatients from an emergency department (ED) in southern Brazil during two consecutive influenza seasons. Children eligible for enrollment in this study were aged 24-59 months and presented with acute respiratory symptoms and fever. Naso- and oropharyngeal swabs were collected and multiplex reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) was performed to identify the respiratory viruses involved. In total, 492 children were included in this study: 248 in 2010 and 244 in 2011. In 2010, 136 samples (55%) were found to be positive for at least one virus and the most frequently detected viruses were human rhinovirus (HRV) (18%), adenovirus (AdV) (13%), and human coronavirus (CoV) (5%). In 2011, 158 samples (65%) were found to be positive for at least one virus, and the most frequently detected were HRV (29%), AdV (12%), and enterovirus (9%). Further, the presence of asthma (OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.86-5.46) was independently associated with HRV infection, whereas fever was associated with AdV (OR, 3.86; 95% CI, 1.31-16.52) and influenza infections (OR, 3.74; 95% CI, 1.26-16.06). Ten patients (2%) were diagnosed with pneumonia, and six of these tested positive for viral infection (4 HRV, 1 RSV, and 1 AdV). Thus, this study identified the most common respiratory viruses found in preschool children in the study region and demonstrated their high frequency, highlighting the need for improved data collection, and case management in order to stimulate preventive measures against these infections. J. Med. Virol. 88:1325-1333, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Background: Since April 2009, human cases of respiratory infections originated by novel swine-origin influenza A virus, designated pandemic A(H1N1)v, have been detected worldwide, causing immediate international concern. In Brazil, as of 06 October 2009, there have been 14.229 confirmed cases of infection and 1.167 deaths. Mortality rates of 0.61/100.000 inhabitantes were observed.Methods: The virus samples were obtained from clinical specimens from patients who came from the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal. Virus isolation was performed in MDCK cell cultures. Viral RNA was extracted from the infected cells and submitted to reverse transcription-amplification reactions with primers set designed to cover the complete segments of the HA, NA and MP genes. The amplified products were directed sequenced. The complete genes of hemagglutin (HA), neuraminidase (NA) and matrix (MP) were sequenced.Results: Comparative sequence analysis indicated the presence of point mutations in the HA gene of the Brazilian strains when compared to the reference strain A/California/04/H1N1 (2009). These alterations do not change the all five of the known antigenic sites of the HA protein. The canonical sites for N-linked glycosylation at NxS/T motifs were preserved among strains. Data of the MP sequence analysis revealed that the strains of this study carried the S31N mutation that confers cross-resistence to the adamantine class of anti-influenza drugs. Sequencing of the NA gene showed that the neuraminidase relative drug binding pocket represented by H275 was not altered, yielding the strains sensitive to oseltamivir. Conclusion:These results emphasize the contribution of molecular surveillance, in addition to antigenic characterization to monitor the evolutionary pattern of the pandemic A(H1N1)v, in order to vaccine development, and evaluation of antiviral drugs susceptibility.