Epidemiological profile of blood donors diagnosed with syphilis in the State of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil

Aline Cristina Figueiredo Lima,Roseane Mara Cardoso Lima Verde,Joacilda Da Conceição Nunes,Matheus Hipólito Do Nascimento,Leonardo Ferreira Soares,Joaquim Nylson Santos Silva,Evaldo Hipólito De Oliveira

doi:10.21472/bjbs.050917

Abstract

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum. In the State of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil, the units of the Hematology and Hemotherapy Center of Piauí (HEMOPI) receive blood donations to maintain the stock of blood and its derivatives. This study aimed to obtain epidemiological data on the frequency of syphilis in blood donors in the State of Piauí, from 2008 to 2013. This is a descriptive retrospective research based on secondary data with quantitative and exploratory analysis, in which the variables age, gender, school level, marital status, occupation, and municipality where the participants reside were recorded, analyzing the prevalence of syphilis in donors. A total of 233,927 volunteer donations were considered, of which 4,118 were positive for syphilis. The prevalence (1.76%) was analyzed using the ELISA technique, and it was relatively low among blood donations in comparison to other states. The most frequent donations were made by students in the Municipality of Teresina, downtown, and there was a statistically significant association for men, age group of 40-49 years, incomplete elementary school and married marital status. Therefore, it was concluded that the prevalence of syphilis in the State of Piauí is lower than in other states and that updated epidemiological data on the presence of syphilis in blood samples from blood donors has been generated.

Highlights

Syphilis is a problem of great epidemiological apprehension, and there are some criteria to achieve the goal for its eradication (Tavares et al, 2012)
The spirochete Treponema pallidum affects women more frequently through sexual intercourse, and hard chancre is the first sign of infection, appearing about three weeks after contagion, being difficult to be diagnosed at this stage in women due to its location in the vaginal canal
As a sequence of previous studies (Silva et al, 2017), this research aimed to analyze the epidemiological profile of blood donors diagnosed with syphilis in the Hematology and Hemotherapy Center of Piauí (HEMOPI) and determine the prevalence of syphilis in the donor population, recording the socioeconomic variables of infected donors, such as age, gender, skin color, school level, marital status and occupation

Summary

Introduction

Syphilis is a problem of great epidemiological apprehension, and there are some criteria to achieve the goal for its eradication (Tavares et al, 2012). The measures to eradicate syphilis became strong in Brazil in 2007, with the launch of the Elimination Plan of Vertical Syphilis Transmission, incorporated. In 2010, the Elimination Plan of Vertical HIV and Syphilis Transmission promoted critical actions to achieve the proposed goals for the control of acquired (in pregnant women) and congenital syphilis (São Paulo, 2012a). There is hematogenous dissemination of the treponema with the appearance of general signs such as adenopathies and exanthema, which can last up to eight weeks (secondary syphilis). In one to two years, the disease evolution may lead to cardiovascular and neurological complications and gums (tertiary syphilis). Due to an immunological barrier or inappropriate antibiotic treatments, develop a latent form of the disease and remain asymptomatic for many years, maintaining a transmissibility potential (Galatoire et al, 2012)

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