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BIBTEX RIS

Considerations on the epidemiology and transmission of Chagas disease in the Brazilian amazon

1999; Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde; Volume: 94; Issue: suppl 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0074-02761999000700077

ISSN

1678-8060

Autores

Sebastião Aldo da Silva Valente, Vera da Costa Valente, Habib Fraiha Neto,

Tópico(s)

Trypanosoma species research and implications

Resumo

The Brazilian Amazon has long been considered a non-endemic area for Chagas disease, in spite of the well-known enzootic cycle involving a variety of wild mammals and triatomine bugs of this region (Rodrigues & Melo 1942, Deane 1964, 1967), whose natural environment has already been much altered by human activities in ways that are important for vector-host balance (Coura 1990, Fraiha Neto et al. 1995), necessiting attention and specific programs of epidemiological vigilance (Feitosa 1995).Chagas disease merits close attention at this time: there is growing number of cases that now exceeds one hundred cases in the past few years, the peri-domestic cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi is still in the adaptation phase in the region, and the time is opportune for the adoption of vector control measures.Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon is on the rise.Data from January of 1998, reveal 148 cases of which 121 were acute with 5 resulting in death (67 cases were associated with family episodes and 54 were not so associated) and 27 chronic cases.In terms of occurrence by state, 71 were in Pará (47.9%), 51 in Amapá (34.5%), 14 in Amazonas (9.5%), 9 in Maranhão (6.1%), and 7 in Acre (4.7%), not considering serological screening done in the region.It must be remembered also that these data represent only those notifications that came to the notice of the Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC) and surely represent only the tip of the epidemiological 'iceberg'.The State of Pará shows the greatest number of cases because it has in Belém facilities for diagnosis, while no cases were reported from the states of Roraima and

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