Bancroftian filariasis in two urban areas of Recife, Brasil: the role of individual risk factors Filariose bancroftiana em duas áreas urbanas do Recife, Brasil: o papel dos fatores de risco individuais
Bancroftian filariasis is spreading in towns of endemic areas as in Recife, northeastern Brazil, where it is a major public health problem. This paper deals with the prevalence of microfilaraemia and filarial disease in two urban areas of Recife, studying their association with individual characteri...
| Published in: | Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
1995
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651995000300008 https://doaj.org/article/3efe700727e74f1d8df52164256f06f0 |
| Summary: | Bancroftian filariasis is spreading in towns of endemic areas as in Recife, northeastern Brazil, where it is a major public health problem. This paper deals with the prevalence of microfilaraemia and filarial disease in two urban areas of Recife, studying their association with individual characteristics and variables related to the exposure to the vectors. The parasitologic survey was performed through a "door-to-door" census and microfilaraemia was examined by the thick-drop technique using 45µl of peripheral blood collected between 20:00 and 24:00 o' clock. 2,863 individuals aged between 5 and 65 years were interviewed and submitted to clinical examination. Males aged between 15 and 44 years old presented the greatest risk of being microfilaraemic. Microfilaraemia was also significantly associated with no use of bednet to sleep. The risk of being microfilaraemic was greater among those who had lived in the studied areas for more than 5 years. The overall disease prevalence was 6.3%. Males presented the greatest risk of developing acute disease. The risk of developing chronic manifestations was also greater among males and increased with age. We found no association between time of residence, bednet use, microfilaraemia and acute and chronic disease. We may conclude that in endemic areas there are subgroups of individuals who has a higher risk of being microfilariae carriers due to different behaviours in relation to vector contact. A Filariose bancroftiana está se disseminando em áreas urbanas de regiões endêmicas como no Recife, nordeste do Brasil, onde se constitui em um problema de saúde pública. Este artigo descreve a prevalência de microfilaremia e doença filarial em duas áreas urbanas do Recife, estudando sua associação com características individuais e variáveis relacionadas ao contacto com vetores. O inquérito parasitológico foi realizado através de um censo "porta-a-porta" e a pesquisa de microfilárias foi efetuada pela técnica da gota espessa utilizando 45µl de sangue capilar entre 20:00 e 24:00 ... |
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