Visceral leishmaniasis among Indians of the State of Roraima, Brazil. Clinical and epidemiologic aspects of the cases observed from 1989 to 1993

Abstract

A description of the epidemiological profile of visceral leishmaniasis among Indians in the State of Roraima, Brazil, was based on the clinical characteristics of human and dog disease, ecological aspects of the area where the cases occurred and entomologic investigations performed from 1989 to 1993. The 82 human cases were reported in six out of eight Counties that existed then in the State; there was a 69.5% predominance of male cases among those registered and a greater (52.4%) occurrence of the disease in children from zero to ten years old. The rate of natural infection was 10.3% out of 3,773 dogs examined in 74 different locations. Lutzomyia longipalpis was found in 31 areas with greater prevalence of the disease. The human and animal cases as well as the vectors were concentrated in areas where mountains and arable soil predominate, typical locations for the occurrence of American visceral leishmaniasis.