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Lung cancer in Brazil.

Lung cancer is the second leading cause of death in Brazil, after exclusion of external causes. Registries in the country are not reliable because of under-registration and limited coverage. Incidence rates for Brazil are less then half those for selected areas with good registries. Crude and adjusted incidence and mortality rates for lung cancer are rising, particularly among women. The main reason is the acceleration in tobacco consumption and the spread of smoking among women. At present, approximately 40% of men and 25% of women, 15 years of age or older, are current smokers. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where registries are reliable, incidence and mortality for males are similar to US data and the figures for women are rapidly approaching those for men. Occupations associated with risks of exposure to respiratory carcinogens show a rise in the incidence of lung cancer in the industrialized area of São Paulo. The main occupational risk in Brazil is exposure to mineral dusts, silica, or asbestos. Although about 15 million Brazilians are exposed to pesticides, agricultural workers were not a risk group for lung cancer in a case-control study. Pesticides containing arsenic and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) are banned. In recent years, a trend towards a decrease in male smoking has been noted, but there is still a high tobacco exposure burden in both males and females, with a forecast of a further increase in rates of lung cancer incidence and deaths. Control of respiratory carcinogens at work continues to be a problem, particularly in the present scenario of economic and political pressures on Brazil and other developing nations. Semin Oncol 28:143-152.

Brazil↗

Clinical distinctions and pathogenic implications of type 1 autoimmune hepatitis in Brazil and the United States.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Type 1 autoimmune hepatitis has a strong genetic predisposition that varies among different ethnic groups. Our aims were to determine if the clinical manifestations differed between patients with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis from Brazil and the United States and if classical disease could be associated with region-specific susceptibility markers. METHODS: The clinical manifestations and genetic risk factors of 161 patients from the United States were compared to those of 115 patients from Brazil. RESULTS: The patients from Brazil had earlier disease onset, lower frequency of concurrent immune diseases, higher serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-globulin, greater occurrence of smooth muscle antibodies, and lower frequency of antinuclear antibodies than the patients from the United States. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DR13 and DRB1*1301 occurred more commonly in the Brazilian patients and HLA DR4 less often. Normal subjects from each country had similar frequencies of HLA DR13 and DR3. CONCLUSIONS: Type 1 autoimmune hepatitis in Brazil has different features at presentation than the disease in Caucasoid patients from the United States, and it is associated with HLA DR13. Background populations in each country have similar frequencies of HLA DR13 and DR3, and region-specific etiologic factors may determine the HLA association.

Adolescent↗

Serotypes and Shiga toxin genotypes among Escherichia coli isolated from animals and food in Argentina and Brazil.

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains isolated from animals and food in Argentina (n=44) and Brazil (n=20) were examined and compared in regard to their phenotypic and genotypic characteristics to evaluate their pathogenic potential. The clonal relatedness of STEC O157 isolates (n=22) was established by phage typing (PT) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). All O157 strains studied carried eae and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)-hly sequences. In Argentina, these strains occurred both in cattle and meat, and 50% of them carried stx2/stx2vh-a genes, whereas in Brazil the O157 strains were isolated from animals, and most harbored the stx2vh-a sequence. At least 13 different O:H serotypes were identified among the non-O157 strains studied, with serotype O113:H21 being found in both countries. All but one non-O157 strains did not carry eae gene, but EHEC-hlyA gene was found in 85.7% of them, and the stx2 genotype was also more prevalent in Argentina than in Brazil (P<0.01), where stx1 alone or in association was most common (68.8%). One STEC strain isolated from a calf in Brazil harbored the new variant referred to as stx2-NV206. PFGE analysis showed that STEC O157 strains were grouped in four clusters. One Brazilian strain was considered possibly related (> or =80%) to Argentinean strains of cluster I. Differences in the pathogenic potential, especially in regard to serotypes and stx genotypes, were observed among the STEC strains recovered from animals and food in both countries.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗

Detection of antibodies to bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and characterization of genomes of BVDV from Brazil.

An ELISA for the detection of antibodies to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was developed based on antigens derived from a genotype I BVDV strain isolated in Switzerland. Using monoclonal antibodies we showed that this antigen contained the conserved non-structural protein NS3 whereas it essentially lacked the more strain-specific E2 surface glycoprotein. This ELISA has a sensitivity of 97.5% and a specificity of 99.2% as compared to the serum neutralization test (SNT). Preliminary experiments showed that this ELISA reliably detects antibodies to BVDV strains circulating in Brazil. Serum samples obtained from 430 adult cattle on 19 farms of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and one farm from Corrientes (Argentina) were tested for antibodies by means of this ELISA. We found antibodies in 56% +/- 15.1% of the cattle sera tested, which indicates that, in Brazil, the prevalence of infection with BVDV is similar to that found in Europe and the USA. Our sequence analysis of two BVDV isolates showed that BVDV of both genotypes I and II circulate in Brazil.

Animals↗

The development and adaptation of the Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments in Brazil.

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the complexities of adapting technology and developing the sensory testing technique of the Semmes-Weinstein (S-W) monofilaments in Brazil to enable early detection and monitoring of peripheral nerve function in Hansen's disease (Hd). This history of the adoption and implementation of the use of the S-W monofilaments in Brazil follows the sequence described in adoption and diffusion theory of innovations. As a result, the availability of the S-W monofilaments produced in Brazil facilitated the utilization of this sensory testing technique in Brazil. In addition, the Brazilian model proved to be more accessible, durable, portable, and practical in meeting local needs. It improved health care worker awareness of and desire to use better sensory testing technology, making it possible to prevent disability.

Brazil↗

Abortion in Brazil: legislation, reality and options.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil except when performed to save the woman's life or in cases of rape. This paper gives a brief history of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary efforts to change abortion-related legislation in Brazil in the past 60 years, the contents of some of the 53 bills that have been tabled in that time, the non-governmental stakeholders involved and the debate itself in recent decades. The authorities in Brazil have never assumed full public responsibility for reproductive health care or family planning, let alone legal abortion; the ambivalence of the medical profession is an important obstacle. Most politicians avoid getting involved in the abortion debate, but the majority of bills in the 1990s have favoured less restrictive legislation. Incremental legislative and health service changes could help to improve the situation for women. Advocacy is probably the most important action, to promote an environment conducive to change. Clandestine abortion is a serious public health problem in Brazil, and the inadequacy of family planning services is one of the causes of this problem. The solutions should be made a priority for the Brazilian public health system.

Abortion, Illegal↗

"The cut above" and "the cut below": the abuse of caesareans and episiotomy in São Paulo, Brazil.

In the last 50 years, a rapid increase in the use of technology to start, augment, accelerate, regulate and monitor the process of birth has frequently led to the adoption of inadequate, unnecessary and sometimes dangerous interventions. Although research has shown that the least amount of interference compatible with safety is the paradigm to follow, vaginal birth is still being treated as if it carries a high risk to women's health and sexual life in Brazil. This paper describes the impact of the intervention model on women's birth experience, and discusses how the organisation of public and private maternity services in Brazil influences the quality of obstetric care. Brazil is known for high rates of unnecessary caesarean section ("the cut above"), performed in over two-thirds of births in the private sector, where 30% of women give birth. The 94.2% rate of episiotomy ("the cut below") in women who give birth vaginally, affecting the 70% of poor women using the public sector most, receives less attention. A change in the understanding of women's bodies is required before a change in the procedures themselves can be expected. Since 1993, inspired by campaigns against female genital mutilation, a national movement of providers, feminists and consumer groups has been promoting evidence-based care and humanisation of childbirth in Brazil, to reduce unnecessary surgical procedures.

Brazil↗

Health risk behaviors and associated risk and protective factors among Brazilian adolescents in Santos, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of health risk behaviors and identify risk and protective factors that are associated with several health risk behaviors (cigarette smoking, drug use, onset of sexual intercourse before age 15, pregnancy, gun-carrying, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts) among adolescents in Brazil, as well as to explore gender differences. METHODS: We estimated prevalence rates, evaluated bivariate associations, and explored multivariate analyses using logistic regression on data from a 1997 survey of adolescent health among 2059 eighth- and 10(th)-grade students in Santos, Brazil. RESULTS: Youth in Santos, Brazil report high rates of gun-carrying, suicidal thoughts and attempts, sexual intercourse, and pregnancy. Factors associated with diminished involvement for nearly all health risk behaviors, for both boys and girls, included having good family relationships, and feeling liked by friends and teachers. Factors associated with increases in nearly all health risk behaviors were: gun-carrying and gun availability in the home, drug use, and sexual abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Factors that are associated with a wide range of health risk behaviors among adolescents in Brazil appear to parallel those found in industrialized countries: access to guns, substance use, and sexual abuse. Likewise, connectedness to family, school, and peers is consistently the protective factor associated with diminished risky behaviors.

Adolescent↗

Treating the injured worker in Brazil. The South American experience.

Despite appropriate laws to protect workers, the health conditions of Brazilian workers reflect the social and economic reality in Brazil. A statistical analysis of health actions in Brazil shows serious distortions caused by the immense discrepancy between the poverty of the Northern and Northeastern states and the richness, although concentrated, of the great Southern and Southeastern cities of the country. Valid quantitative measures of health care problems of workers are confounded by the presence of a large mass of informal workers within the country, which may not be included in standard statistical analysis. Despite the existence of norms and laws related to the health of workers, their application is precarious and selective. The development of educational and preventive actions is already a reality in Brazil with unquestionable statistical repercussions, notwithstanding their doubtful comprehensiveness. The diseased worker or victim of a work-related accident in Brazil has no access to adequate medical assistance, and survival depends on benefits that are often insufficient to enable them to support themselves.

Accidents, Occupational↗

Discrimination between dog-related and vampire bat-related rabies viruses in Brazil by strain-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is a geographical overlap between the two main rabies epidemiological cycles maintained by dogs and vampire bats in Latin America. The geographical and temporal coincidence of rabies outbreaks of respective origins is not unusual in rural areas of Latin America. These circumstances make it difficult to discriminate the intraspecies and interspecies transmission pathways of rabies. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to develop techniques to discriminate dog-related and vampire bat-related rabies virus isolates (DRRV and VRRV, respectively) in Brazil. STUDY DESIGN: The 1396 nucleotides of the nucleoprotein gene of a total of 27 DRRV and VRRV were sequenced. Strain-specific (SS) primers were developed based on these sequences. Forty-nine rabies virus strains isolated from animals and humans in several parts of Brazil were examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with SS primers. These rabies viruses were also amplified by RT-PCR with general rabies primers and the PCR products were cut by three restriction enzymes, Blp I, Bsu36 I and BspE I. RESULTS: All the DRRV and VRRV were distinguished by RT-PCR with SS primers. The PCR products obtained from DRRV were cut at one site by Blp I, but not by Bsu36 I. The PCR products obtained from VRRV were cut at one or two sites by Bsu36 I, but not by Blp I. Blp I and Bsu36 I clearly discriminated DRRV and VRRV in restriction fragment length polymorphysim (RFLP) assays. The results of SS RT-PCR and RFLP were consistent. CONCLUSION: SS RT-PCR and RFLP assays have been developed for determining the origins of rabies virus isolates in Brazil. These assays are simple and rapid, and will be useful for identifying the rabies virus reservoirs of field isolates in Brazil, especially when used together.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Mycoflora and mycotoxins in Brazilian black pepper, white pepper and Brazil nuts.

A wide range of field and storage fungi were isolated from black pepper, white pepper and Brazil nut kernels from Amazonia. A total of 42 species were isolated from both peppers. Aspergillus flavus and A. niger were isolated more frequently from black than from white pepper. Other potential mycotoxigenic species isolated included: A. ochraceus, A. tamarii, A. versicolor, Emericella nidulans and Chaetomium globosum, Penicillium brevicompactum, P. citrinum, P. islandicum and P. glabrum. Species isolated from pepper for the first time were Acrogenospora sphaerocephala, Cylindrocarpon lichenicola, Lacellinopsis sacchari, Microascus cinereus, Petriella setifera and Sporormiella minima. Seventeen species were isolated from Brazil nut kernels. A. flavus was the dominant species followed by A. niger. P. citrinum and P. glabrum were the only penicillia isolated. Species isolated for the first time included Acremonium curvulum, Cunninghamella elegans, Exophiala sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Pseudoallescheria boydii, Rhizopus oryzae, Scopulariopsis sp., Thielavia terricola and Trichoderma citrinoviride. Considerably more metabolites were detected from black than white pepper in qualitative analyses. Chaetocin, penitrem A, and xanthocillin were identified only from black pepper, and tenuazonic acid was identified from both black and white pepper. Aflatoxin G2, chaetoglobosin C, and spinulosin were identified from poor quality brazil nuts. Aflatoxin B1 and B2 were also only detected in poor quality brazil nuts at concentrations of 27.1 micrograms kg-1 and 2.1 micrograms kg-1 respectively (total 29.2 micrograms kg-1).

Aflatoxins↗

Emergency medicine in Southern Brazil.

Emergency medicine is developing rapidly in southern Brazil, where elements of both the Franco-German and the Anglo-American models of emergency care are in place, creating a uniquely Brazilian approach to emergency care. Although emergency medical services (EMS) in Brazil have been directly influenced by the French mobile EMS (SAMU) system, with physicians dispatched by ambulances to the scenes of medical emergencies, the first American-style emergency medicine residency training program in Brazil was recently established at the Hospital de Pronto Socorro (HPS) in Porto Alegre. Emergency trauma care appears to be particularly developed in southern Brazil, where advanced trauma life support is widely taught and SAMU delivers sophisticated trauma care en route to trauma centers designated by the state.

Brazil↗

An international partnership: impacting wound care in Brazil.

The purpose of this article is to review nursing literature about international partnerships, describe nursing and nursing education in Brazil, and describe an international partnership about chronic wound prevention and treatment in Brazil. Because countries often share health care concerns, nursing knowledge is greater than any one country's health care trends or clinical issues. Although the literature has numerous articles about pressure ulcers and other chronic wounds, much of this information is lacking for nurses in Brazil because it is primarily written in English. This project provided educational programs in Portuguese to nurses and nursing students in Brazil, involved them in the development of wound care protocols, allowed practice with dressings, and stimulated discussions on improvement of home care to patients and families. WOC nurses have a critical global role in sharing wound care knowledge.

Brazil↗

Is obesity replacing or adding to undernutrition? Evidence from different social classes in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To describe time trends in under- and overnutrition in different regional and income strata of the child and adult population of Brazil. DESIGN: Nation-wide surveys conducted in 1975, 1989 and 1996/7 in probabilistic samples of 1-4-year-old children and adults 20 years and over. Time trends refer to stunting, wasting and overweight prevalences among children and age-adjusted underweight and obesity prevalences among adults (95% confidence intervals included). SUBJECTS: Individuals examined by each survey in each age group ranged from 1796 young children in 1996 to 78031 adults in 1975. SETTING: North-eastern and south-eastern regions of Brazil. RESULTS: Undernutrition indicators declined intensively and continuously among children and adults in all region and income strata. Obesity remained low and relatively stable among children, but increased intensively and continuously in all regions and income strata among adult males. Obesity also increased intensively and continuously among adult women from the less economically developed region of Brazil (the north-eastern region) and among lower-income women from the more developed region (the south-eastern region). Higher-income women from the more developed region had a significant increase in obesity from 1975 to 1989, followed by a significant decline from 1989 to 1997. CONCLUSIONS: Undernutrition in young children is being controlled in Brazil without evidence of increasing obesity. However, obesity is rapidly replacing undernutrition in most gender, region and income strata of the adult population. Adult obesity is already more frequent than adult undernutrition in the more economically developed region, among all higher-income groups, and also among lower-income women living in the more developed region. These lower-income women are significantly more exposed than their higher-income counterparts to both undernutrition and obesity.

Adult↗

Comparison of the prevalence of antibodies to human herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus) in Brazil and Colorado.

The prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8; Kaposi's sarcoma [KS] herpesvirus) infection was determined by IFA in 297 persons living in Brazil and Colorado. The prevalence of antibody to HHV-8 in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-seropositive gay men with and without KS was similar in Brazil and Colorado. In Brazil, the prevalence of HHV-8 antibody was significantly greater in HIV-1-seronegative gay men than in HIV-1-seronegative male intravenous drug users. HHV-8-seropositive Brazilian gay men who had a clinical diagnosis of KS or who were infected with HIV-1 had significantly higher titers of HHV-8 antibody than did HHV-8-seropositive, HIV-1-seronegative Brazilian gay men. These findings provide further support for the association between HHV-8 infection and KS and suggest that, as in the United States, HHV-8 infection is transmitted sexually in Brazil.

Adolescent↗

Interruption of measles transmission in Brazil, 2000-2001.

In 1992, Brazil adopted the goal of measles elimination by the year 2000; however, in 1997, after a 4-year period of good control, there was a resurgence of measles in Brazil. In 1999, to achieve the elimination goal, Brazil implemented the Supplementary Emergency Measles Action plan, with one measles surveillance technician designated to each state. Of 10,007 suspected measles cases reported during 1999, 908 (9.1%) were confirmed, and of them 378 (42%) were confirmed by laboratory analysis. Of 8358 suspected measles cases reported in 2000, 36 (0.4%) were confirmed (30 [83%] by laboratory); 92% of the discarded cases were classified on the basis of laboratory testing. In 2001, only 1 of 5599 suspected measles cases was confirmed, and it was an imported case from Japan. The last outbreak occurred in February 2000, with 15 cases. Current data suggest interruption of indigenous measles transmission in Brazil.

Adolescent↗

AIDS-related lymphoma in Brazil. Histopathology, immunophenotype, and association with Epstein-Barr virus.

The occurrence of malignant lymphoma is an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients. The incidence of AIDS-related lymphoma in some developing countries such as Brazil is increasing as the survival of HIV infection has improved. Although there is a clear association between several types of immunodeficiency-related lymphomas and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the association of EBV infection in AIDS-related lymphoma in Brazil, where the incidence of AIDS is high, is unknown. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from 24 cases of AIDS-related lymphoma in Brazil were analyzed for morphologic classification, immunophenotype, and EBV association using in situ hybridization studies with an EBV-EBER1 biotinylated probe. Twenty cases of AIDS-related lymphoma were classified as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and four cases were Hodgkin's disease. Eleven non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were classified as diffuse large cell type, five cases were small non-cleaved cell, Burkitt-type, and four cases were large cell immunoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Eighteen cases were of B-cell phenotype; one was a T-cell lymphoma, and one was classified as null. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was demonstrated in the majority of tumor cells of 11 of 20 (55%) of the cases non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and in 3 of 4 (75%) cases of Hodgkin's disease. AIDS-related lymphomas in Brazil are usually of large cell/immunoblastic type, but Hodgkin's disease is also seen. Both non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease are often associated with EBV infection. The non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is predominantly of B-cell phenotype.

Adult↗

Risk factors for the increasing caesarean section rate in Southeast Brazil: a comparison of two birth cohorts, 1978-1979 and 1994.

BACKGROUND: Brazil has the highest caesarean section (CS) rate in the world (36.4% in 1996). METHODS: Risk factors for increasing CS rate were studied in two population-based cohorts of singleton live births in families residing in the municipality of Ribeirao Preto, State of Saõ Paulo, Southeast Brazil. The first comprised births from June 1978 to May 1979 (6750 births-one-year survey) and the second births from May to August 1994 (2846 births-4-month survey). Multiple unconditional logistic regression modelling was used to control for confounding. RESULTS: The CS rate rose from 30.3% in 1978-1979 to 50.8% in 1994. In 1978-1979, socioeconomic, reproductive and demographic variables, and health service factors were associated with CS rate. In 1994, only reproductive, demographic and health service factors remained associated, e.g. hour of delivery (from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.), attendance by the same physician for prenatal care and delivery, > or =4 prenatal visits, maternal age > or =30 years, 1-3 previous live births and birthweight 3500-3999 g. CONCLUSION: Caesarean section in Brazil is widely performed for non-medical reasons in which physician convenience plays an important role. There is an urgent need for public health interventions to reduce the CS rate in Brazil, mainly directed towards cultural beliefs and physician behaviour.

Adult↗