Acute Chagas disease in the state of Pará, Amazon Region: is it increasing?

Valéria Regina Cavalcante Dos Santos,José Ricardo Dos Santos Vieira,Angela Cristina Verissimo Junqueira,Juliana De Meis,Wilson Savino,José Rodrigues Coura,Jorge Alberto Azevedo Andrade

doi:10.1590/0074-02760170298

Valéria Regina Cavalcante Dos Santos, José Ricardo Dos Santos Vieira + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760170298

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Abstract

Acute Chagas disease (ACD) has a distinct epidemiological profile in the Amazon Region, with cases and outbreaks of Trypanosoma cruzi infection being possibly related to the ingestion of contaminated food. Data on ACD in the state of Pará retrieved from 2000 to 2016 from the Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) were evaluated. During this period, 2,030 of the 16,807 reported cases were confirmed, with a higher incidence between the months of August and December, thus characterising a seasonal pattern of acute infection, and coinciding with the higher production of “açaí”, one fruit likely involved in the oral transmission of the disease. Evaluation of the absolute numbers of confirmed ACD cases secondary to oral infection suggests that infection through this route increased during the 2010-2016 period, differing from what was recorded in terms of vectorial or other infection routes. These findings point to the need of intensifying strategies to prevent or substantially reduce oral transmission.

Highlights

According to the bulletin of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, 1,034 cases of orally transmitted acute Chagas disease (ACD) were registered from 2000 to 2013 (MS 2015)
Notification has been mandatory for municipalities, states and the Federal District to regularly report the closure of investigation into suspicious cases of Acute Chagas disease (ACD) to the national database within the minimum period of 60 days after notification using the SINAN reporting/investigation form
Evaluation of the confirmed ACD cases throughout the year revealed that the largest number of confirmed cases occurred between August and December, indicating a seasonal pattern for the disease

Summary

Introduction

According to the bulletin of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, 1,034 cases of orally transmitted acute Chagas disease (ACD) were registered from 2000 to 2013 (MS 2015). In the present study we evaluated the occurrence and profile of the notified and confirmed cases of ACD through a descriptive study of ACD cases registered in the SINAN from 2000 to 2016 in the municipalities of the state of Pará in the Brazilian Amazon Region.

Results

Conclusion