Epidemiologia

Caracterização das epidemias de malária nos municípios da Amazônia Brasileira em 2010 Characteristics of malaria epidemics in the municipalities of the Brazilian Amazon, 2010 Caracterización de las epidemias de malaria en los municipios de la Amazonia brasileña en 2010

Rui Moreira BrazI,II; Elisabeth Carmen DuarteII,III; Pedro Luiz Tauil II
IDepartamento de Monitoramento e Avaliação do SUS, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, Brasil
IIFaculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brasil
IIIOrganização Pan-Americana da Saúde, Brasília, Brasil
Endereço para correspondência

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ABSTRACT
Malaria epidemics occur annually in various municipalities (counties) in the Brazilian Amazon. However, health services do not systematically adopt tools to detect and promptly control these events. This article aimed to characterize malaria epidemics in the Brazilian Amazon Region based on their duration, the Plasmodium species involved, and the population's degree of vulnerability. An automatic malaria incidence monitoring system based on quartiles was assessed for prompt identification of malaria epidemics. In 2010, epidemics were identified in 338 (41.9%) of the counties in the Brazilian Amazon. P. falciparum and P. vivax epidemics were detected, both singly and in combination. Epidemics lasted from 1 to 4 months in 58.3% of the counties, 5 to 8 months in 34.5%, and 9 to 12 months in 17.4%. Systematic monitoring of malaria incidence could contribute to early detection of epidemics and improve the effectiveness of control measures.
Malaria; Plasmodium; Epidemics
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RESUMO
Epidemias de malária ocorrem anualmente nos municípios da Região Amazônica, Brasil, no entanto os serviços de saúde não adotam, de maneira sistemática, instrumentos para detecção e contenção oportunas desses eventos. O objetivo foi caracterizar as epidemias de malária na região segundo duração,