Typical epidemiology of respiratory virus infections in a Brazilian slum

by Góes et al.

For this study researchers collected nasopharyngeal specimens from 282 children aged ≤5 years with acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) during 2005 to 2006 in one of the largest Brazilian slums.

26th November 2019 • comment

Zika virus infection among symptomatic patients from two healthcare centers in Sao Paulo State, Brazil: prevalence, clinical characteristics, viral detection in body fluids and serodynamics

by Tozetto-Mendoza et al.

This study shows that urine ZIKV RT-PCR testing in the acute phase of infection can improve the sensitivity of diagnosis, while testing serum is probably less useful despite more sustained shedding in some cases. Higher sensitivity and specificity serological tests are needed for the diagnosis of patients who seek medical attention after the period of ZIKV detection by RT-PCR and for surveillance purposes in settings of high DENV background infection.

8th April 2019 • comment