Profile of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in transmission areas in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from 2007 to 2017

Abstract

Background: American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is a widespread anthropozoonosis caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and is considered a serious public health problem. The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of confirmed ATL cases and evaluate the spatial distribution of ATL in high-risk transmission areas from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: An ecological, analytical, and retrospective study of the confirmed cases of ATL in Minas Gerais from 2007 to 2017 was conducted. To characterize these cases, multiple correspondence analysis and georeferencing of the ATL prevalence rates in the municipalities were conducted based on variables obtained at Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação and Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística databases. Results: There were 13,025 confirmed cases of ATL from 74.4% (635) municipalities of Minas Gerais, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 66.5 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants. Males aged 20 to 59 years and individuals who attended elementary school were most affected with ATL. Multiple correspondence analysis presented an accumulated qui-squared value of 44.74%, proving that there was a relationship between the variables, including ethnicity, age, pregnancy status, zone of infection, and number of cases. Conclusion: We confirmed that ATL is endemic to Minas Gerais, and there is high risk of infection within the municipalities due to a high rate of parasite transmission. The occurrence of infection in children, pregnant women, and the indigenous population demonstrates the need for the government to expand social policies aimed at vulnerable groups.

American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in an endemic municipality in the North of Minas Gerais State: spatial analysis and socio-environmental factors

“…Despite the differences observed in relation to the categorical frequencies regarding the education of people who had ATL in rural and urban areas, it was found that the disease mainly affected people with low education, as was verified in other studies 9,22,29 . It is believed that these individuals are more affected by ATL due to a low understanding of the risk factors related to the disease 9 .…”

“…Despite the differences observed in relation to the categorical frequencies regarding the education of people who had ATL in rural and urban areas, it was found that the disease mainly affected people with low education, as was verified in other studies 9,22,29 . It is believed that these individuals are more affected by ATL due to a low understanding of the risk factors related to the disease 9 . In addition, it is possible that the lowest level of education reflects worse socioeconomic conditions, and consequently precarious housing conditions, with an increase in exposures to household environmental risk factors 30 .…”

“…The Northern mesoregion of the Minas Gerais State corresponds to one of the main areas of ATL occurrence [7][8][9] . Thus, this study aimed to analyze the spatial distribution and socio-environmental factors related to the areas of ATL occurrence between 2007 to 2011, in the municipality of Montes Claros in the North of Minas Gerais State, Brazil.…”

Diversity, Co-Occurrence, and Nestedness Patterns of Sand Fly Species (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Two Rural Areas of Western Panamá

“…These sand flies inhabit a range of different environments, and Leishmania transmission depends on the overlap between vector, mammalian reservoir hosts, and human populations [ 5 , 13 , 14 ]. In some regions, the presence of vector species in the human environment may be associated with the emergence of autochthonous cases of leishmaniasis [ 15 , 16 ], as occurs in the Western Panamá Province, where CL is widespread [ 3 ]. It is of epidemiological interest to understand how both land use and seasonality impact sand fly species’ diversity and composition.…”

Diversity of phlebotomine sand flies and molecular detection of trypanosomatids in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…Some species are able to withstand several environmental modifications that may occur in natural breeding sites and successfully adapt to urban environments [1]. In some regions, the presence of vector species in the human environment may be associated with the emergence of autochthonous cases of leishmaniases, as occurs in the state of Minas Gerais, where both VL and TL are widely spread [32,33]. In this context, the municipality of Brumadinho has reported an increasing number of VL and TL-cases over the last years, and some of them have been reported in the district of Casa Branca (Source: Municipal Secretary of Health of Brumadinho, MG).…”