“…Other countries have gone through reductions, in what can be considered an epidemic pattern of the disease, i.e., a period of increased incidence and/or mortality, followed by a decline. Current mortality rates range from 100 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants ( Japan) to 50-53 per 100,000 (United States, Canada and Israel) and reaching 24 per 100,000 (Australia) 14 . Brazil has also followed this trend and, in the last three decades, it showed the highest rate of reduction among Latin American countries: mortality rates by disease, according to André et al 3 , declined consistently between 1980 to 1982 and 2000 to 2002 from 68.2 to 40.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.…”