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[American cutaneous leishmaniasis in the State of Acre, Brazil]
N S Silva1, A B Viana, J A Cordeiro
1Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.
Objective:
Present a statistical survey of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) in the State of Acre.
Methods:
Data were obtained from the forms of the "Campaign against Leishmaniasis", from January 1992 to December 1997. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied.
Results:
There were 2.557 registered cases. The highest prevalence was found at the microregion of Brasiléia (231.8 cases/10,000 inhab.). The predominant clinical form was cutaneous (84.05%). The disease occurred mostly among males (71.02%). Half of the cases were among people with 24 years of age or younger. Most cases were people with rural occupations. 83.97% of the cases were diagnosed by clinical examination. The longest period to seek medical treatment was registered in the mesoregion of Juruá Valley (10.37 months)
Conclusion:
The high number of cases suggests that it might be necessary to study the psychosocial implications of the disease and identify factors contributing to the delay in treatment.