Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association

The microcephaly epidemic in Brazil generated intense debate regarding its causality, and one hypothesised cause of this epidemic, now recognised as congenital Zika virus syndrome, was the treatment of drinking water tanks with pyriproxyfen to control Aedes aegypti larvae. We present the results of...

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Main Authors: Maria de Fatima P Militão de Albuquerque, Wayner V de Souza, Antônio da Cruz G Mendes, Tereza M Lyra, Ricardo AA Ximenes, Thália VB Araújo, Cynthia Braga, Demócrito B Miranda-Filho, Celina MT Martelli, Laura C Rodrigues
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde
Series:Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762016005022104&lng=en&tlng=en
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spelling doaj-67eda297a14c47d9b5e986289e0ba21d2020-11-24T23:15:50ZengInstituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da SaúdeMemórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.1678-8060010.1590/0074-02760160291S0074-02762016005022104Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their associationMaria de Fatima P Militão de AlbuquerqueWayner V de SouzaAntônio da Cruz G MendesTereza M LyraRicardo AA XimenesThália VB AraújoCynthia BragaDemócrito B Miranda-FilhoCelina MT MartelliLaura C RodriguesThe microcephaly epidemic in Brazil generated intense debate regarding its causality, and one hypothesised cause of this epidemic, now recognised as congenital Zika virus syndrome, was the treatment of drinking water tanks with pyriproxyfen to control Aedes aegypti larvae. We present the results of a geographical analysis of the association between the prevalence of microcephaly confirmed by Fenton growth charts and the type of larvicide used in the municipalities that were home to the mothers of the affected newborns in the metropolitan region of Recife in Pernambuco, the state in Brazil where the epidemic was first detected. The overall prevalence of microcephaly was 82 per 10,000 live births in the three municipalities that used the larvicide Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) instead of pyriproxyfen, and 69 per 10,000 live births in the eleven municipalities that used pyriproxyfen. The difference was not statistically significant. Our results show that the prevalence of microcephaly was not higher in the areas in which pyriproxyfen was used. In this ecological approach, there was no evidence of a correlation between the use of pyriproxyfen in the municipalities and the microcephaly epidemic.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762016005022104&lng=en&tlng=enZika virusmicrocephalypyriproxyfen larvicide
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Maria de Fatima P Militão de Albuquerque
Wayner V de Souza
Antônio da Cruz G Mendes
Tereza M Lyra
Ricardo AA Ximenes
Thália VB Araújo
Cynthia Braga
Demócrito B Miranda-Filho
Celina MT Martelli
Laura C Rodrigues
spellingShingle Maria de Fatima P Militão de Albuquerque
Wayner V de Souza
Antônio da Cruz G Mendes
Tereza M Lyra
Ricardo AA Ximenes
Thália VB Araújo
Cynthia Braga
Demócrito B Miranda-Filho
Celina MT Martelli
Laura C Rodrigues
Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
Zika virus
microcephaly
pyriproxyfen larvicide
author_facet Maria de Fatima P Militão de Albuquerque
Wayner V de Souza
Antônio da Cruz G Mendes
Tereza M Lyra
Ricardo AA Ximenes
Thália VB Araújo
Cynthia Braga
Demócrito B Miranda-Filho
Celina MT Martelli
Laura C Rodrigues
author_sort Maria de Fatima P Militão de Albuquerque
title Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
title_short Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
title_full Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
title_fullStr Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
title_full_unstemmed Pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in Brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
title_sort pyriproxyfen and the microcephaly epidemic in brazil - an ecological approach to explore the hypothesis of their association
publisher Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde
series Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
issn 1678-8060
description The microcephaly epidemic in Brazil generated intense debate regarding its causality, and one hypothesised cause of this epidemic, now recognised as congenital Zika virus syndrome, was the treatment of drinking water tanks with pyriproxyfen to control Aedes aegypti larvae. We present the results of a geographical analysis of the association between the prevalence of microcephaly confirmed by Fenton growth charts and the type of larvicide used in the municipalities that were home to the mothers of the affected newborns in the metropolitan region of Recife in Pernambuco, the state in Brazil where the epidemic was first detected. The overall prevalence of microcephaly was 82 per 10,000 live births in the three municipalities that used the larvicide Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) instead of pyriproxyfen, and 69 per 10,000 live births in the eleven municipalities that used pyriproxyfen. The difference was not statistically significant. Our results show that the prevalence of microcephaly was not higher in the areas in which pyriproxyfen was used. In this ecological approach, there was no evidence of a correlation between the use of pyriproxyfen in the municipalities and the microcephaly epidemic.
topic Zika virus
microcephaly
pyriproxyfen larvicide
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762016005022104&lng=en&tlng=en
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