BackgroundAlthough the Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic ceased to be a public health emergency by the end of 2016, studies to improve knowledge about this emerging disease are still needed, especially those investigating a causal relationship between ZIKV in pregnant women and microcephaly in neonates. However, there are still many challenges in describing the relationship between ZIKV and microcephaly. The few studies focusing on the epidemiological profile of ZIKV and its changes over time are largely limited to systematic reviews of case reports and dispersal mapping of ZIKV spread over time without quantitative methods to analyze patterns and their covariates. Since Brazil has been at the epicenter of the ZIKV epidemic, this study examines the geospatial association between ZIKV and microcephaly in Brazil.MethodsOur study is categorized as a retrospective, ecological study based on secondary databases. Data were obtained from January to December 2016, from the following data sources: Brazilian System for Epidemiological Surveillance, Disease Notification System, System for Specialized Management Support, and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Data were aggregated by municipality. Incidence rates were estimated per 100,000 inhabitants. Analyses consisted of mapping the aggregated incidence rates of ZIKV and microcephaly, followed by a Getis-Ord-Gi spatial cluster analysis and a Bivariate Local Moran’s I analysis.ResultsThe incidence of ZIKV cases is changing the virus’s spatial pattern, shifting from Brazil’s Northeast region to the Midwest and North regions. The number of municipalities in clusters of microcephaly incidence is also shifting from the Northeast region to the Midwest and North, after a time lag is considered. Our findings suggest an increase in microcephaly incidence in the Midwest and North regions, associated with high levels of ZIKV infection months before.ConclusionThe greatest burden of microcephaly shifted from the Northeast to other Brazilian regions at the beginning of 2016. Brazil’s Midwest region experienced an increase in microcephaly incidence associated with ZIKV incidence. This finding highlights an association between an increase in ZIKV infection with a rise in microcephaly cases after approximately three months.

Dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and zika virus infections are increasing public health problems in the world, the last two diseases having recently emerged in Brazil. This ecological study employed spatial analysis of probable cases of dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and zika virus infections reported to the National Mandatory Reporting System (SINAN) in Maranhao State from 2015 to 2016. The software GeoDa version 1.10 was used for calculating global and local Moran indices. The global Moran index identified a significant autocorrelation of incidence rates of dengue (I=0.10; p=0.009) and zika (I=0.07; p=0.03). The study found a positive spatial correlation between dengue and the population density (I=0.31; p<0.001) and a negative correlation with the Performance Index of Unified Health System (PIUHS) by basic care coverage (I=-0.08; p=0.01). Regarding chikungunya fever, there were positive spatial correlations with the population density (I=0.06; p=0.03) and the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) (I=0.10; p=0.002), and a negative correlation with the Gini index (I=-0.01; p<0.001) and the PIUHS by basic care coverage (I=-0.18; p<0.001). Lastly, we found positive spatial correlations between Zika virus infections and the population density (I=0.13; p=0.005) and the MHDI (I=0.12; p<0.001), as well as a negative correlation with the Gini index (I=-0.11; p<0.001) and the PIUHS by basic care coverage (I=-0.05; p=0.03). Our results suggest that several socio-demographic factors influenced the occurrence of dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and zika virus infections in Maranhao State.

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Objective: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of elderly quilombolas (residents of quilombo settlements first established by escaped slaves) in mixed urban and rural residential developments (agrovilas) in Alcântara, Maranhão, Brazil. Method: An observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study was performed. The sample consisted of 129 elderly people of both genders, aged 60 years or older and living in northeastern Brazil. The sample was allocated into three groups, distributed according to geographic space. Quality of life was assessed using the WHOQoL-Bref instrument and a sociodemographic questionnaire was applied. The comparison between groups was carried out using the Anova test (one-way) and subsequently the Bonferroni Post-Hoc test. The correlation was obtained by the Pearson test, p<0.05. Results: Elderly quilombolas had a mean age of 69.7 years (±7.9) and were predominantly men with low income and schooling. Quality of life had higher scores in the social domain (values) and lower in the environmental domain (values). Quality of life as measured by the psychological domain was higher in group I than in groups II (p=0.012) and III (p=0.002). The facets of QoL correlated with facets of health for group I (r=0.357; p=0.032) and III (r=0.461; p<0.001). Conclusion: The situation of the quilombola population surveyed is considered vulnerable and psychological factors influence QoL.

Waterborne outbreaks of human toxoplasmosis can have great magnitude due to the number of persons infected while smaller-scale outbreaks are also possible. This is a study based on a historical database investigating a toxoplasmosis outbreak occurred in 2006 in a residential community in São Luís, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. Ninety of the 110 residents, employees and domestic helping persons had blood samples collected and tested. The diagnosis of toxoplasmosis was established by quantification of anti- Toxoplasma gondii immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies using enzyme immunoassay. The subjects were classified as past infection, acute/recent infection or seronegatives. The definition of acute infection was based on the presence of indicative symptoms and immunoglobulin M positivity. There were 33 cases of acute infection. The outbreak was concluded to be waterborne: consumption of faucet-mount filtered water was indicated as risk factor. We discuss the challenges of investigating waterborne toxoplasmosis outbreaks.