The epidemiological delimitation of lymphatic filariasis in an endemic area of Brazil, 41 years after the first recorded case

Abstract

In 2002, the status of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in the district of Jaboatão, in north-eastern Brazil, was reviewed, 41 years after the first case of the disease was recorded in the area. Current data from Jaboatão were compared with older information from the district that had been published, as official reports on filariasis cases and mosquitoes and as the result of population surveys, between 1948 and 1997. Although the first microfilaria-positive cases were detected in the district in 1959, it was not until 1993 that the national Ministry of Health categorized Jaboatão as an endemic area. In 2002, fingerprick samples of blood, each of about 50 microl, were collected at night (23.00-01.00 hours) from 4365 individuals in the district and used to make thick smears. Microfilariae were detected in the smears of blood from 33 (0.8%) of the subjects, 12 of whom were considered autochthonous cases of LF. The male subjects were significantly more likely to be microfilaraemic than the female (1.1% v. 0.4%; P<0.05) but there was no direct relationship between prevalence and age, the microfilaraemics varying in age from 6-64 years. The Socorro sub-district had the highest prevalence, of 2.9%. It is recommended that the National Programme to Eliminate Filariasis uses mass drug administrations and vector control throughout the district, regardless of the prevalences recorded in the latest survey.

Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding lymphatic filariasis: study on systematic noncompliance with mass drug administration

“…In a study on the population of Jaboatão dos Guararapes , Medeiros et al . 13 reported prevalence rates of 0.07% and 0.78% for elephantiasis and hydrocele, respectively.…”

“…Despite this progress, LF persists as a public health problem in municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Recife (Olinda, Jaboatão dos Guararapes and Recife), in the State of Pernambuco 10-13 . The treatment regimen adopted in Brazil has consisted of MDA with a single dose of diethylcarbamazine 15 .…”

Urban lymphatic filariasis

“…Nearby cities within the greater metropolitan Recife area also have foci of LF, especially Olinda and Jaboatão dos Guararapes (Medeiros et al 1999, 2008). A study in 1991 (Maciel et al 1994) compared LF in two slum areas of Recife City to two in Olinda and found overall mf prevalence rates of 13.5 and 12.3 %, respectively.…”

Neglected tropical diseases in Brazil

“…The disease is prevalent in certain parts of the world, particularly in Africa, Caribbean, and Latin America 16,37 . In Brazil, the prevalence rate is not available from the Health Surveillance Service, but disease transmission in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco State, is a cause for concern 33 . Regarding treatment of patients with filariasis, some effective drugs are available but access to both diagnosis and drugs is again the main problem 20 .…”