Tegumentary leishmaniasis in the state of Amazonas : what have we learned and what do we need?

This study evaluated the occurrence of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) in the State of Amazonas, Brazil, in the last 30 years with emphasis on the last 10 years (2001 to 2010). The disease was predominantly observed in males (76.2%), in the 21- to 30-year-old age group (26.6%) and in extrac...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Guerra, Jorge Augusto de Oliveira, Maciel, Marcel Gonçalves, Guerra, Marcus Vinítius de Farias, Talhari, Anette Chursciack, Prestes, Suzane Ribeiro, Fernandes, Marcos Antonio, Cruz, Alda Maria da, Martins, Alessandra, Coelho, Leíla Ines de Aguiar Raposo Camara, Romero, Gustavo Adolfo Sierra, Barbosa, Maria das Graças Vale
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2015
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade de Brasília (UnB)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da UnB
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unb.br:10482/29531
Online Access:http://repositorio.unb.br/handle/10482/29531
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0268-2013
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Leishmaniose cutânea
Amazônia
Epidemiologia
Leishmaniose
Description
Summary:This study evaluated the occurrence of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) in the State of Amazonas, Brazil, in the last 30 years with emphasis on the last 10 years (2001 to 2010). The disease was predominantly observed in males (76.2%), in the 21- to 30-year-old age group (26.6%) and in extractive workers (43.7%); 3.3% of the cases were the mucosal form. The endemic channel shows the disease seasonality, with a predominance of cases at the beginning and end of each year. The number of cases by municipality in the period of 2001-2010 shows the maintenance of the endemic in the localities where the highest numbers of cases have always been registered, namely, Manaus, Rio Preto da Eva, Itacoatiara and Presidente Figueiredo. The comparison of data from 2001 to 2005 and from 2006 to 2010 showed the emergence of this disease in municipalities that had been previously unaffected. In the last years, there has been a significant increase in the activities of control, diagnosis and treatment of leishmaniasis in the State of Amazonas. In conclusion, the historical series of ATL analyzed in this study suggests that the transmission foci remain and are even expanding, though without continuous transmission in the intra- or peridomicile settings. Moreover, the disease will persist in the Amazon while the factors associated with infection acquisition relative to forest exploitation continue to have economic appeal. There is a real expectation of wide variations in disease incidence that can be influenced by climate and economic aspects.