Brazil MOH: Epi Week 5 Microcephaly report

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The weekly reporting on microcephaly cases from Brazil's MOH started out being posted  on Tuesdays last December, shifted to Wednesdays in January, while this week's report has run the latest to date - appearing on Friday.

With the removal of both confirmed and discarded cases from the Total Under Investigation each week, the numbers tend to bounce around.  But this week's report adds 296 new cases to the investigation, leaving 3862 cases under investigation.

Out of 1,227 cases that have been investigated, 462 (37.6%) have been confirmed as microcephaly or other CNS disorders. A state-by-state listing of cases can be found at the link below.

Ministry of Health investigates 3,852 suspected cases of microcephaly in the country

New report shows that 462 cases have been confirmed to microcephaly or other disorders of the central nervous system, 41 with respect to the Zika virus. Notified, they were discarded 765
 
The Ministry of Health and the states investigating 3,852 suspected cases of microcephaly across the country. The new report released on Friday (12) points out, too, that 462 cases have had microcephaly confirmation and / or other disorders of the central nervous system, and 41 with respect to the Zika virus. This week 24 new cases were confirmed, compared with the previous week.

Other 765 cases reported were discarded because they had normal exams, or submit microcefalias and / or changes in the central nervous system by an infectious causes. In all, 5,079 suspected cases of microcephaly have been recorded since the start of the investigation in October 22, 2015 until February 6, 2016. Of this total, 62.5% of cases (3,174) were reported in 2015 and 37.5% ( 1,905) in the year 2016.

The state of Pernambuco remains with the largest number of confirmed cases in relation to the Zika virus (33), followed by Rio Grande do Norte (4), Paraíba (2) and Ceará and Pará with one case each. Amapá and Amazonas are the only states of the federation which has no record of suspected cases of microcephaly.

In total, 91 deaths were reported by microcephaly and / or alteration of the central nervous system after birth (stillbirth) or during pregnancy (miscarriage). Of these, 24 were investigated and confirmed for microcephaly and / or alteration of the central nervous system, of which eight were discarded. Another 59 are still under investigation.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Health is investigating all cases of microcephaly and other disorders of the central nervous system, informed by the states and the possible relationship with the Zika virus and other congenital infections. Microcephaly can be caused by various infectious agents beyond Zika, such as syphilis, toxoplasmosis, Other Infectious Agents, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes Viral.

According to the report, the 462 confirmed cases were reported in 175 municipalities in 13 states: Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. the Northeast region has the largest number of confirmed cases and Pernambuco continues with the highest number of confirmed cases (167), followed by the states of Bahia (101), Rio Grande do Norte (70), Paraíba (54), Piauí (29) and Alagoas (21).

So far, they are with indigenous circulation of Zika virus 22 units of the federation. They are: Goiás, Minas Gerais, Federal District, Mato Grosso do Sul, Roraima, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo , Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Parana. 

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