Epidemiological context of leptospirosis in Pernambuco: a decade analysis

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection, recognized as the most widespread zoonosis in the world. It is said that the incidence of this disease is underestimated and is increasing. The diagnosis is made through laboratory tests by traditional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This disease presents clinically with fever and is acute, and is usually acquired after contact with infected animals or contaminated urine. In humans, leptospirosis has a high mortality and can cause a very wide range of symptoms with damage to many body systems. Brazil had more than 3,400 cases of this disease in 2019, of which 576 were in the northeast region. Pernambuco (PE) is among the five states with the highest number of cases (6.5% of the national value). The analysis of the record of confirmed cases of leptospirosis in PE in the last 10 years shows that there was a reduction (18%) in the number of notifications. Thus, due to the importance of this disease and the notifications of infection, it is important that analyzes are carried out. This work aims to analyze the available data about leptospirosis notifications in the state of PE in the last ten years available (2010 - 2019). This is an exploratory, quantitative and descriptive research, made from the extraction of information about leptospirosis diagnoses, available on the website of the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN). Analyzing the variables, it is evident that the most affected population are people between 20-39 years old (40.04%), with incomplete 5th to 8th grade education (13.4%) and brown race or color (56.4%). As for the disease, the clinical course is predominantly a cure (83.1%) and occurs primarily in Recife (68%). The number of notifications of infection decreased in PE in the analyzed period, which may be related to a control of the disease and the means of transmission or a possible underreporting and marginalization of the disease.