Investigação de um surto de intoxicação alimentar em Belo Horizonte, Brasil

Abstract

A prospective study was performed to identify knowledge concerning visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in endemic areas of Maranhao, amongst the rural population of the Codo township and in a peripheral urban area (an old settlement, Maracana, on the outskirts of the city of Sao Luis, and Vila Nova/Bom Viver, Paco do Lumiar township). A total of 283 persons were interviewed, including 53 from Maracana, 103 from Vila Nova/Bom Viver, and 127 from Codo. The sites presented favorable conditions for the development and maintenance of VL. Some 93.8% of those interviewed had heard of kala-azar. In Maracana, 50.9% referred to sandflies as responsible for the transmission of VL, while 87.2% knew that dogs are the main link in the epidemiological cycle of the disease. Some 77.8% of those interviewed did not know how to control the disease. As regards manifestations of the disease, they largely associated it with fever, anemia, weight loss, and an enlarged abdomen. Only five individuals knew that Glucantimeis used to treat VL. We conclude that knowledge is poor with regard to all aspects of VL in both the rural and peripheral urban area.

Public Knowledge about and Detection of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in Urban Divinópolis, Brazil

“…In all surveyed neighborhoods half of the interviewed subjects were unaware of the disease and aspects of its transmission. Similar situations have been reported in Belo Horizonte [35], Maringá [36], São Luís [26], and Tancredo Neves [37]. Similar results were also found in an area endemic for LTA in Venezuela, where 68% of the population had an insufficient level of information about transmission and prevention [38].…”

“…Forty-nine percent were able to identify the dog as a possible domestic reservoir. In a similar survey in São Luís, 87.2% of the respondents implicated the dog in leishmaniasis transmission [26]. …”

“…For example, only houses were present in the streets and buildings were absent. The questionnaires were based on previous VL studies (but also applicable to CL) and included general questions on sociodemographics, transmission, prevention, treatment, and environmental conditions [26]. All questionnaires were administered by the same person (M.E.O.…”

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Visceral Leishmaniasis in Rural Communities of Amhara State: A Longitudinal Study in Northwest Ethiopia

“…This was further supported by the fact that in the post-intervention survey the differences in knowledge between HH with VL positive history and HH with no history of VL practically disappeared, as there was an external source of knowledge common to all the participant families. VL patients, friends and relatives have been identified in other studies as main sources of knowledge, and it is recommended to take the opportunity to appropriately inform and educate them, so they can act as community health agents when they are back into their places of residence [13], [16], [31].…”

“…There is a paucity of VL KAP studies in the New World [12], [13] and in the Old World [14]–[18] in general. And in Ethiopia, to the best of our knowledge, there are no published studies that have focused on these aspects in a rural setting.…”