O trabalho de campo em Medicina Tropical: objetivos, planejamento e aspectos operacionais

Abstract

Field work is of fundamental importance for information regarding so-called tropical diseases. It enables more precise establishment of the prevalence of endemic diseases and of its social and economic consequences, allows study of the many clinical variants of diseases, of the epidemiological factors which trigger and maintain a certain morbid condition in the field environment where it occurs, thus enabling the investigation of the causal agent, of the diverse reservoirs and vectors in the natural conditions of transmission. This article approaches relevant structural, logistic and operational objectives and aspects in the performance of this type of investigation.

Epidemiologic aspects of toxoplasmosis and evaluation of its seroprevalence in pregnant women

“…Tropical diseases continue to affect thousands of Brazilians due to the lack of urban planning (poor sanitation conditions), deficient or absent sanitation compliance surveillance, inadequate health policy, poor hygiene habits, and lack of awareness of the population and health professionals 20,21 . In Divinópolis City, State of Minas Gerais, no data are available on toxoplasmosis at the Centro de Saúde Coletiva-Vigilância Epidemiológica.…”