Epidemiology of schistosomiasis in a low prevalence area of Alagoas between 2010 and 2016

Abstract

Schistosomiasis mansoni is a parasitic disease very associated with social, economic, cultural and political factors, and the state of Alagoas is one of Brazil's most endemic states for parasitosis. Thus, this article aims to present the epidemiological profile of schistosomiasis in municipalities of the 7th health region of Alagoas for the period from 2010 to 2016. This is a descriptive and quantitative research that was performed from the data obtained by Information System of the Schistosomiasis Control Program (SISPCE) and System of Notification of Diseases of Information (SINAN) of the Unified Health System (SUS). All municipalities in the studied region have a positivity ranging between 0.25% and 13.03%, which characterizes them as low prevalence municipalities. As for the positivity, only one municipality presented in any period of the study a moderate infection intensity. All municipalities in the study area reported severe cases of the disease in SINAN during the study period. Two species of epidemiologically important snails were recorded in two cities of the health region under study, B. glabrata and B. straminea, and only the animals of the first species were found positive for Schistosoma mansoni infection. Thus, the data from the present study show that the 7th health region of Alagoas presents schistosomiasis as a relevant public health problem, which requires that measures to contain the disease to improve the quality of life of the population of this region.