ACUTE CHAGAS DISEASE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BELÉM/PARÁ

Abstract

Chagas disease is a parasitic infection transmitted by hematophagous insects popularly known as "kissing bugs", "hickey" or "suck". The World Health Organization estimates that about 6 to 7 million people are infected worldwide, with the vast majority in Latin America. In Brazil, the northern region is responsible for almost all cases. The general objective of this study is to demonstrate the incidence of acute Chagas disease in the city of Belém/Pará in the years 2021 and 2022. The specific objectives are to determine the type of contamination, verify seasonality, and relate seasonality to the type of contamination. This is an epidemiological, retrospective, and descriptive study that uses publicly accessible data from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System on notifications of cases of acute Chagas disease reported in 2021 and 2022. 35 cases of Chagas disease were confirmed in the municipality of Belém in the period studied, the main means of contamination was oral transmission with 31 confirmed cases. The months of August to November represented the period with the highest incidence of the disease, with an increase mainly in cases of oral contamination. These results are probably related to the increase in the consumption of food contaminated with Trypanosoma cruzi. We conclude that acute Chagas disease represents a public health problem and that it is being neglected in combat, treatment and prevention actions.