The Centre for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (CIDACS): Linking Health and Social Data in Brazil

The Centre for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (CIDACS) was created in 2016 in Salvador, Bahia-Brazil with the objective of integrating data and knowledge aiming to answer scientific questions related to the health of the Brazilian population. This article details our experiences in the establishment and operations of CIDACS, as well as efforts made to obtain high-quality linked data while adhering to security, ethical use and privacy issues. Every effort has been made to conduct operations while implementing appropriate structures, procedures, processes and controls over the original and integrated databases in order to provide adequate datasets to answer relevant research questions. Looking forward, CIDACS is expected to be an important resource for researchers and policymakers interested in enhancing the evidence base pertaining to different aspects of health, in particular when investigating, from a nation-wide perspective, the role of social determinants of health and the effects of social and environmental policies on different health outcomes.

Rates of adverse reactions to first and second doses of BCG vaccination: results of a large community trial in Brazilian schoolchildren

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the incidence of adverse reactions to first and second bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination in schoolchildren.

SETTING AND DESIGN

Enhanced surveillance in a Brazilian trial. Suspected reactions were reported to a nurse who visited cases and completed a standard form.

RESULTS

Among 71341 schoolchildren studied, 33 reactions were reported. Of these, 25 fulfilled the criteria, resulting in a rate of one per 2854 vaccinations, with no deaths or BCG-osis. Reactions to second doses were more common than to first BCG vaccinations, but this difference was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Adverse reactions to a second dose of BCG may be more frequent than reactions to a first dose, but they are still rare events.

[Epidemiology of tegumentary American leishmaniasis and its relations with agriculture and prospecting, in a locality of the State of Bahia, Brazil]

This study was carried out in the city of Lençóis, State of Bahia, with the objective of verifying the association between leishmaniasis infection and occupation. A Montenegro test and a questionnaire including biological and socio-economic variables were applied to the study group. Sandflies were captured in and around dwellings. The higher-than-average prevalence of leishmaniasis observed among agricultural workers and prospectors is explained by the double exposure to the infection-both at home and at work.