Prevalence of Chagas' Disease in Mulungu do Morro Northeastern Brazil

AUTOR(ES)

Aras, Roque, Veiga, Marielza, Gomes, Irênio, Mota, Gildo, Rodrigues, Bernardo, Rabelo, Rosângela, Guzman-Bracho, Carmen, Melo, Ailton

FONTE

Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2002-05

RESUMO

OBJECTIVE - The aim of this paper is to describe the prevalence of T. Cruzi infection in patients of from Mulungu do Morro, a rural tropical region of Northeastern Brazil. METHODS - A cross-sectional study was performed. After randomly selecting samples of the population, and obtaining their consents , patients completed pretested epidemiological and clinical questionnaires. Serum samples from all patients were collected and screened for the presence of T. cruzi antibodies. RESULTS - Of 694 patients examined, 174 patients (25.1%) tested had a positive serology for Chagas' disease. Of the study population, 341 patients were male with 27% Chagas' disease prevalence, without a statistical difference. Illiteracy was the only variable related to T. cruzi infection in our population. CONCLUSION - In conclusion, our study points to the high prevalence of Chagas' disease among patients in Mulungu do Morro, suggesting that this region has a high frequency of infection and probably active vectorial transmission.

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