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.

COVID-19 Outbreak: An Overview.

Abstract: Background: In late December 2019, Chinese health authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Summary: A few days later, the genome of a novel coronavirus was released (http://viro­logical.org/t/novel-2019-coronavirus-genome/319; Wuhan-Hu-1, GenBank accession No. MN908947) and made publicly available to the scientific community. This novel coronavirus was provisionally named 2019-nCoV, now SARS-CoV-2 according to the Coronavirus Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Coronaviridae family, Betacoronavirus genus, subgenus Sarbecovirus. Since its discovery, the virus has spread globally, causing thousands of deaths and having an enormous impact on our health systems and economies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the epidemiology, phylogenesis, homology modeling, and molecular diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2. Key Messages: Phylogenetic analysis is essential to understand viral evolution, whereas homology modeling is important for vaccine strategies and therapies. Highly sensitive and specific diagnostic assays are key to case identification, contact tracing, identification of the animal source, and implementation of control measures.

Sex bias in infectious disease epidemiology: patterns and processes.

Abstract: Background Infectious disease incidence is often male-biased. Two main hypotheses have been proposed to explain this observation. The physiological hypothesis (PH) emphasizes differences in sex hormones and genetic architecture, while the behavioral hypothesis (BH) stresses gender-related differences in exposure. Surprisingly, the population-level predictions of these hypotheses are yet to be thoroughly tested in humans. Methods and Findings For ten major pathogens, we tested PH and BH predictions about incidence and exposure-prevalence patterns. Compulsory-notification records (Brazil, 2006–2009) were used to estimate age-stratified ♂:♀ incidence rate ratios for the general population and across selected sociological contrasts. Exposure-prevalence odds ratios were derived from 82 published surveys. We estimated summary effect-size measures using random-effects models; our analyses encompass ∼0.5 million cases of disease or exposure. We found that, after puberty, disease incidence is male-biased in cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, pulmonary tuberculosis, leptospirosis, meningococcal meningitis, and hepatitis A. Severe dengue is female-biased, and no clear pattern is evident for typhoid fever. In leprosy, milder tuberculoid forms are female-biased, whereas more severe lepromatous forms are male-biased. For most diseases, male bias emerges also during infancy, when behavior is unbiased but sex steroid levels transiently rise. Behavioral factors likely modulate male–female differences in some diseases (the leishmaniases, tuberculosis, leptospirosis, or schistosomiasis) and age classes; however, average exposure-prevalence is significantly sex-biased only for Schistosoma and Leptospira. Conclusions Our results closely match some key PH predictions and contradict some crucial BH predictions, suggesting that gender-specific behavior plays an overall secondary role in generating sex bias. Physiological differences, including the crosstalk between sex hormones and immune effectors, thus emerge as the main candidate drivers of gender differences in infectious disease susceptibility.

[Utilization of health care services in Brazil: gender, family characteristics, and social status].

Abstract: Estudo financiado pela Organizacao Pan-Americana da Saude atraves do Concurso Regional de Investigacion 1999 sobre “Genero y equidad en el acceso a la atencion de la salud en las reformas de los sistemas de salud y seguridad social”. HDP/HDR/RGP/81/5.3.

Homens e saúde na pauta da Saúde Coletiva

Abstract: Apresenta-se a tematica "homens e saude" como questao contemporânea da Saude Coletiva e produto da interface entre as ciencias humanas e a saude: o carater social do adoecimento; a perspectiva de genero como forma particular da relacao saude-sociedade; e a promocao da saude como conceituacao positiva Elabora-se a tematica em torno de tres eixos de aproximacao, sob a perspectiva dos exercicios das masculinidades: saude sexual e reprodutiva; violencia e genero e morbi-mortalidade em homens. Sao apontadas as contribuicoes que estes eixos produzem como esforco empirico para realizar a categoria genero, ao tempo em que revelam novas problematicas para a area de saude: a paternidade, o exercicio interativo da sexualidade, a violencia interpessoal no âmbito da vida privada, a hiper-masculinidade na violencia entre homens, o cuidado de si e o cuidar em saude para os homens. Estas contribuicoes permitirao nao apenas inserir as masculinidades como questao de saude, mas renovar as formas de tratamento de homens e mulheres no campo da saude.

Role of TNF-Alpha, IFN-Gamma, and IL-10 in the Development of Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Abstract: Host immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is mediated by cellular immunity, in which cytokines and Th1 cells play a critical role. In the process of control of the infection by mycobacteria, TNF-alpha seems to have a primordial function. This cytokine acts in synergy with IFN-gamma, stimulating the production of reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNIs), thus mediating the tuberculostatic function of macrophages, and also stimulating the migration of immune cells to the infection site, contributing to granuloma formation, which controls the disease progression. IFN-gamma is the main cytokine involved in the immune response against mycobacteria, and its major function is the activation of macrophages, allowing them to exert its microbicidal role functions. Different from TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, IL-10 is considered primarily an inhibitory cytokine, important to an adequate balance between inflammatory and immunopathologic responses. The increase in IL-10 levels seems to support the survival of mycobacteria in the host. Although there is not yet conclusive studies concerning a clear dichotomy between Th1 and Th2 responses, involving protective immunity and susceptibility to the disease, respectively, we can suggest that the knowledge about this responses based on the prevailing cytokine profile can help to elucidate the immune response related to the protection against M. tuberculosis.