Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

About: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation is a facility organization based out in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Trypanosoma cruzi. The organization has 18673 authors who have published 36752 publications receiving 802378 citations. The organization is also known as: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz & FIOCRUZ.

Diagnosis of Chagas disease: what has been achieved? What remains to be done with regard to diagnosis and follow up studies?

Abstract: In the acute phase and in the chronic forms of Chagas disease, the etiological diagnosis may be performed by detection of the parasite using direct or indirect parasitological methods and by the presence of antibodies in the serum by way of serological tests. Several techniques are easily available, ranging from the simplest wet smear preparation to immuno-enzymatic assays with recombinant antigens that will meet most diagnostic needs. Other tests under evaluation include a molecular test using polymerase chain reaction, which has shown promising results and may be used as a confirmatory test both in the acute and chronic phases of the disease. Better rapid tests are needed for diagnosis, some of which are already under evaluation. Additionally, there is a need for tools that can identify patients cured shortly after specific treatment. Other needs include a marker for prognosis and early diagnosis of congenital transmission.

Temporal distribution of Aedes aegypti in different districts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, measured by two types of traps.

Abstract: Dengue dynamics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as in many dengue-endemic regions of the world, is seasonal, with peaks during the wetÐ hot months. This temporal pattern is generally attributed to the dynamics of its mosquito vector Aedes aegypti (L.). The objectives of this study were to characterize the temporal pattern of Ae. aegypti population dynamics in three neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and its association with local meteorological variables; and to compare positivity and density indices obtained with ovitraps and MosquiTraps. The three neighborhoods are distinct in vegetation coverage, sanitation, water supply, and urbanization. Mosquito sampling was carried out weekly, from September 2006 to March 2008, a period during which large dengue epidemics occurred in the city. Our results show peaks of oviposition in early summer 2007 and late summer 2008, detected by both traps. The ovitrap provided a more sensitive index than MosquiTrap. The MosquiTrap detection threshold showed high variation among areas, corresponding to a mean egg density of 25Ð52 eggs per ovitrap. Both temperature and rainfall were signiÞcantly related to Ae. aegypti indices at a short (1 wk) time lag. Our results suggest that mean weekly temperature above 22Ð24C is strongly associated with high Ae. aegypti abundance and consequently with an increased risk of dengue transmission. Understanding the effects of meteorological variables on Ae. aegypti population dy- namics will help to target control measures at the times when vector populations are greatest, contributing to the development of climate-based control and surveillance measures for dengue fever in a hyperendemic area.

Perfis de utilização de serviços de saúde no Brasil

Abstract: Servicos de saude devem responder as demandas populacionais que resultam da conjugacao de fatores sociais, individuais e culturais. Para isso, faz-se necessario o conhecimento do padrao de consumo de servicos de saude. Neste artigo, quatro perfis de consumo de saude foram gerados a partir da aplicacao da tecnica do Grade of Membership (GoM). O modelo teorico de utilizacao de servicos de saude proposto por Andersen serviu como marco de referencia da analise, permitindo que estimativas da demanda por servicos de saude fossem feitas segundo niveis altos e baixos de capacitacao, necessidade e predisposicao para o consumo. Ressalta-se que especial atencao deve ser dada ao grupo de alta necessidade e predisposicao, e baixa capacitacao, que representa 14% da populacao brasileira acima de 14 anos de idade (exceto a regiao Norte) e e composto, predominantemente, por idosos que moram sozinhos e tem alta necessidade de servicos especializados.

Species distribution modelling: Contrasting presence-only models with plot abundance data

Abstract: Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in ecology and conservation. Presence-only SDMs such as MaxEnt frequently use natural history collections (NHCs) as occurrence data, given their huge numbers and accessibility. NHCs are often spatially biased which may generate inaccuracies in SDMs. Here, we test how the distribution of NHCs and MaxEnt predictions relates to a spatial abundance model, based on a large plot dataset for Amazonian tree species, using inverse distance weighting (IDW). We also propose a new pipeline to deal with inconsistencies in NHCs and to limit the area of occupancy of the species. We found a significant but weak positive relationship between the distribution of NHCs and IDW for 66% of the species. The relationship between SDMs and IDW was also significant but weakly positive for 95% of the species, and sensitivity for both analyses was high. Furthermore, the pipeline removed half of the NHCs records. Presence-only SDM applications should consider this limitation, especially for large biodiversity assessments projects, when they are automatically generated without subsequent checking. Our pipeline provides a conservative estimate of a species’ area of occupancy, within an area slightly larger than its extent of occurrence, compatible to e.g. IUCN red list assessments.