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BACKGROUND: American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is a widespread anthropozoonosis caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and is considered a serious public health problem. The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of confirmed ATL cases and evaluate the spatial distribution of ATL in high-risk transmission areas from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS: An ecological, analytical, and retrospective study of the confirmed cases of ATL in Minas Gerais from 2007 to 2017 was conducted. To characterize these cases, multiple correspondence analysis and georeferencing of the ATL prevalence rates in the municipalities were conducted based on variables obtained at Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação and Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística databases. RESULTS: There were 13,025 confirmed cases of ATL from 74.4% (635) municipalities of Minas Gerais, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 66.5 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants. Males aged 20 to 59 years and individuals who attended elementary school were most affected with ATL. Multiple correspondence analysis presented an accumulated qui-squared value of 44.74%, proving that there was a relationship between the variables, including ethnicity, age, pregnancy status, zone of infection, and number of cases. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that ATL is endemic to Minas Gerais, and there is high risk of infection within the municipalities due to a high rate of parasite transmission. The occurrence of infection in children, pregnant women, and the indigenous population demonstrates the need for the government to expand social policies aimed at vulnerable groups.

ABSTRACT: A survey of veterinary drug residues in bulk milk tank from Minas Gerais State, Brazil, was carried out through a broad scope analysis. Here, 132 raw milk samples were collected at 45 dairy farms in Minas Gerais from August 2009 to February 2010, and analyzed for 42 analytes, comprising pyrethroids, macrocyclic lactones and antibacterials, using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry in tandem mode and gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Within all milk samples, at least one veterinary drug residue was identified in 40 milk samples (30.30%) by confirmatory tests, whereas 16 samples (12.12%) showed the presence of at least two residues. With regard to the Brazilian maximum residue levels, 11 milk samples (8.33%) were non-compliant according to Brazilian Legislation. The veterinary drugs detected in the non-compliant milk samples include penicillin V (one sample), abamectin (one sample) and cypermethrin (nine samples). Furthermore, the antibacterial screening methods failed to identify most of the positive samples that were detected by confirmatory tests, leading to a large discrepancy between the screening and confirmatory antimicrobial tests. Thus, the present study indicated that the veterinary drugs residues still represents a great concern for the milk production chain.

In the middle of a political and fiscal crisis, the Brazilian government is applying successive budget cuts, including in science funding. Recent cuts radically affect research programs on biodiversity that are crucial components for the design and monitoring of public policies for nature conservation and sustainable development. We analyze the consequences of such cuts on the Research Program on Biodiversity (PPBio), the largest biodiversity research network in Brazil (626 researchers, nine networks in all Brazilian biomes). Brazil holds a substantial part of the world's biodiversity and of tropical forests that play a significant role for regional and global climate stability. If underfunding is maintained, the dismantling of the Brazilian PPBio will have consequences that go beyond biodiversity knowledge itself but affect society as a whole. Brazil will likely fail to reach the National Targets for Biodiversity 2011–2020, and it will be difficult to fulfill the restoration target of the Brazilian NDC and to advance with the sustainable development goals. © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Ciência Ecológica e Conservação