João Figueiredo

Environmental factors can influence dengue reported cases

INTRODUCTION Global climate changes directly affect the natural environment and contribute to an increase in the transmission of diseases by vectors. Among these diseases, dengue is at the top of the list. The aim of our study was to understand the consequences of temporal variability of air temperature in the occurrence of dengue in an area comprising seven municipalities of the Greater São Paulo. METHOD Characterization of a temporal trend of the disease in the region between 2010 and 2013 was performed through analysis of the notified number of dengue cases over this period. Our analysis was complemented with meteorological (temperature) and pollutant concentration data (PM10). RESULTS We observed that the months of January, February, March, April and May (from 2010 to 2013) were the ones with the highest number of notified cases. We also found that there is a statistical association of moisture and PM10 with the reported cases of dengue. CONCLUSION Although the temperature does not statistically display an association with recorded cases of dengue, we were able to verify that temperature peaks coincide with dengue outbreak peaks. Future studies on environmental pollution and its influence on the development of Aedes aegypti mosquito during all stages of its life cycle, and the definition of strategies for better monitoring, including campaigns and surveillance, would be compelling.

Socio-Environmental and Hematological Profile of Landfill Residents (São Jorge Landfill–Sao Paulo, Brazil)

We are experiencing an unprecedented urbanization process that, alongside physical, social and economic developments, has been having a significant impact on a population’s health. Due to the increase in pollution, violence and poverty, our modern cities no longer ensure a good quality of life so they become unhealthy environments. This study aims to assess the effect of social, environmental and economic factors on the hematologic profile of residents of Santo André’s landfill. In particular, we will assess the effect of social, economic, and environmental factors on current and potential disease markers obtained from hematological tests. The research method is the observational type, from a retrospective cohort, and by convenience sampling in Santo André in the Greater ABC (municipalities of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and São Caetano do Sul, southeast part of the Greater São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil). The study determined a socio-environmental profile and the hematologic diseases screening related to a close location to the landfill. The disease manifests itself within a broad spectrum of symptoms that causes changes in blood count parameters. The objective of this work is to show that there is an association between social, environmental and economic factors and a variety of serious disease outcomes that may be detected from blood screening. A causal study of the effect of living near the landfill on these disease outcomes would be a very expensive and time-consuming study. This work we believe is sufficient for public health officials to consider policy and attempt remediation of the effects of living near a landfill.