Epidemiological profile of leishmaniasis at a reference service in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, from january 2000 to september 2008

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease found in the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Brazil, the disease is an important public health problem, occurring in most states, but mainly in the Northeast region of the country, with the state of Alagoas having a signifi cant number of confi rmed cases. The present study establishes and discusses the epidemiological profi le of cases of leishmaniases treated at the Reference Center of Alagoas, Hospital Escola Hélvio de Farias Auto, between January 2000 and October 2008. During thisperiod, records of 2,104 patients notifi ed to the hospital Epidemiological Surveillance Center were reviewed. The epidemiology of leishmaniasis, both visceral and tegumentary, has shown a profi le that has changed over throughout the years, with a decrease in the number of notifi ed cases. Disease occurrence was associated with lower social economic classes, and affected mainly rural workers in general, housewives and students.

Clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic characteristics of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the 15 th State Health Division, Northwest Paraná State, Southern Brazil

“…In the present study, 95.0% of patients with the cutaneous form and 85.7% of those with the mucosal form were considered to be cured, which were higher than those (59.1%) described in Northern Paraná State (17) , in Alagoas State (44.5%) (19) , and in Rio de Janeiro State (74%) (32) . Similar results were reported by Name et al (28) who found a clinical cure rate of 81.6% in patients with the cutaneous form and 69.6% in patients with the mucocutaneous form in Brasília.…”

“…In the same area, Silveira et al (7) described MST positivity in 95.1%, whereas Curti et al (14) described MST positivity in 92.3% with cutaneous form ATL. Pontello et al (17) exhibited 84.4% positivity, Nunes et al (19) exhibited 56.1% positivity, and Murback et al (27) exhibited 91.4% positivity for MST among the ATL cases.…”

“…Among these individuals there is a higher risk of co-morbidities complicated by ATL treatment (13) . Death due to ATL was reported in 2.3% cases in Alagoas State (19) , which emphasizes the importance of rigorous clinical evaluation prior to and during treatment.…”

Risk Factors Associated With American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Endemic Area of Brazil

“…Nunes et al 8 ,. also in the state of Alagoas , described an epidemiological profile of patients with leishmaniasis who were treated in a referral hospital.…”

Leishmaniose: Perfil Epidemiológico Dos Casos Notificados No Estado Do Piauí Entre 2007 E 2011

“…Compreendem um espectro de doenças distribuídas mundialmente em regiões tropicais e subtropicais, com a capacidade de se adaptar a diferentes ecossistemas e infectar diferentes espécies de mamíferos (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2012;NUNES et al, 2010).…”