Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
01.25.2016
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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The number of cases of microcephaly in Brazil increased 10% in one week and reached the 3,893 notifications brand. The records occurred in 764 municipalities in 20 states and the Federal District. Although the pace of growth has made slight drop, the Supervisory Director of Communicable Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Claudio Maierovitch says too early to make any predictions. Vice President of Research and Reference Laboratories Fiocruz, Rodrigo Stabeli warns that the numbers will still grow. "We will reach 16,000 cases this year," estimates.
To Stebeli the zika epidemic is one of the most serious public health problems already faced by Brazil. "The epidemiological evolution of infection-related problems is much faster than in other diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis," he says. "We are witnessing the arrival of a generation of babies who need intensive care for a better quality of life," he says. "It will be necessary assistance to these children, outside the impact on the family," he explains.
The microcephaly was, until the middle of last year, a disease considered rare in Brazil and worldwide. The number of cases in the country exploded from August, months after a zika epidemic in the Northeast. Tests on infants and fetuses with malformations have reinforced the thesis researchers that the increase in cases is caused by vertical transmission - from mother to baby during pregnancy.
The most recent sample occurred in Minas Gerais, with a baby who was born with microcephaly. Analyses spinal cord revealed the presence of Zika virus. The report released yesterday also reported 49 deaths from congenital malformation. Of these, five were confirmed in relation to zika.
"The scenario is very dynamic. It will still change a lot," says Maierovitch. He recalls that the virus, transmitted by the same vector of dengue, is already present in several countries. "The trend is that new cases occur in the Northern Hemisphere and in countries where there is infestation of the mosquito."
Southeast and carnival
One of the concerns of Brazilian health authorities is the Southeast, where the virus began circulating recently and therefore the vast majority of the population is susceptible. "The Northeast has faced an epidemic last summer. We have the numbers, but there is an estimate that the population is immunized. Not so in the Southeast," says Maierovitch. For him, it is necessary to continue the reduction of work on mosquito infestation. "To not let the curve of cases rise."
The director recognizes that the carnival is another risk factor for the number of cases increasing. Not because of the movement of people, because the virus is already present in almost all states of the country, but the trend in this period that people adopt higher risk attitudes. "Interpersonal contact is higher and people are more exposed to mosquitoes, as they leave to the streets. Hence the need to insist on protective measures such as use of repellents."
Maierovitch also did not hide concern about the situation of São Paulo that, as revealed by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, already has a large number of cities with dengue epidemic. "It's a vulnerability indicator for the municipalities zika" he says.
3 in Test 1
The Health Ministry announced on Saturday the purchase of a product that is being tested and whose production is not yet certain. Over the weekend, the minister Marcelo Castro attended a ceremony in which he promised to buy 500,000 tests "three in one" for simultaneous diagnosis of dengue, chikungunya and zika.
At the time, it was stated that the kits begin to be delivered in February. "It is promising, but it is a project in the medium term, for a few months," says Surveillance Director of Communicable Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Claudio Maierovitch.
The test takes as its starting point a kit developed by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. "The product will exist, but some steps are still needed," he adds. Fiocruz has not yet presented the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) the application for registration of the new method of diagnosis, for example.
Vice President of Research and Reference Laboratories Fiocruz, Rodrigo Stabeli says that documents are being met and that this step will be fulfilled, but it is not essential to pass the new kit to be used. "Currently, reference laboratories are called tests 'in house', a kind of home test that did not go through ANVISA certification," he says. The information is the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.
Source: This Is
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.