Relationship between rainfall and temperature: observations on the cases of visceral leishmaniasis in São Luis Island, State of Maranhão, Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Graça Maria de Castro Viana, Maria do Desterro Soares Brandão Nascimento, Érica Milena Fernandes Rabelo, João Arnaud Diniz Neto, José Roberto Binda Júnior, Carolina de Souza Galvão, Alessandro Carvalho dos Santos, Onildo Martins Santos Júnior, Rodrigo Artur Souza de Oliveira, Rafael Silva Guimarães
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2011
• Subjects: Leishmaniose visceral; Ecoepidemiologia; Temperatura; Densidade pluviométrica; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822011000600013; https://doaj.org/article/2d0362d8ecb24867bf0a6639a6e826d9

INTRODUCTION: Visceral leishmaniasis is a serious public health problem that requires global control strategies, especially with respect to factors that may intervene in reducing the incidence of endemicity. In this work, rainfall density and temperature were correlated with the incidence of human cases in an area endemic for leishmaniasis in São Luis do Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil. METHODS: Notification of human cases by the National Health Foundation/Regional Coordination of Maranhão (FUNASA/COREMA) from 2002 to 2010 was used. Ecological data (mean temperature and rainfall density) were provided by the Meteorological Office of State. RESULTS: A significant association was verified between the number of VL cases and rainfall rate but not in the analysis concerning mean temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the control actions in visceral leishmaniasis should be performed during rainy season in the State of Maranhão, which is in the first half of the year.