Environmental aspects related to tuberculosis and intestinal parasites in a low-income community of the Brazilian Amazon

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Biatriz Araújo Cardoso, Fabio de Oliveira Fonseca, Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto, Ana Caroline Guedes Souza Martins, Nissa Vilhena da Silva Oliveira, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa Lima, George Alberto da Silva Dias, Maria Helena Féres Saad
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
• Subjects: Intestinal parasites; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Tuberculosis; LTBI; Amazon; Neglected communities; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-9946201759057; https://doaj.org/article/690be04bca9f48789b39de40fd931625

ABSTRACT We carried out a cross-sectional study from January to December 2015 on 1,425 inhabitants from a floating population in the Brazilian Amazon (Murinin district, Pará State) to describe the population-based prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) from 2011 to 2014, recent TB contacts (rCts) latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI) , the coverage of the local health network, socio-environmental factors, and frequency of intestinal parasitic infection (IPI). We found that the sanitary structure was inadequate, with latrines being shared with other rooms within the same accommodation; well water was the main source of water, and 48% of families had low incomes. The average rate of TB was 105/100, 000 inhabitants per year; one third of TB patients had been household contacts of infected individuals in the past, and 23% of rCts were LTBI. More than half (65%) of 44% of the stools examined (representing 76% of the housing) had IPIs; the highest prevalence was of fecal-oral transmitted protozoa (40%, Giardia intestinalis ), followed by soil-transmitted helminths (23%). TB transmission may be related to insufficient disease control of rCts, frequent relocation, and underreporting. Education, adopting hygienic habits, improving sanitation, provision of a treated water supply and efficient sewage system, further comprehensive epidemiological surveillance of those who enter and leave the community and resources for basic treatment of IPIs are crucial in combating the transmission of these neglected diseases.