[An outbreak of acute schistosomiasis at Porto de Galinhas beach, Pernambuco, Brazil].
We recently confirmed several cases of acute schistosomiasis in Porto de Galinhas beach, Northeast Brazil. A total of 662 patients were diagnosed by parasitological and clinical examinations. The infection likely occurred during the September 7 national holiday, when heavy rainfall flooded the Ipojuca River and people were infected when the water covered their yards. Families were continuously exposed to infection for a period of three weeks until the water had completely dried up. Previous investigation suggests that snail vectors were introduced as a result of landfill in marshy areas. The swamp-flooding of such areas facilitated the emergence of slums surrounded by snail breeding sites. Heavy rainfall caused open-air sewage ditches to overflow, allowing for infection of snails by Schistosoma mansoni. Thus, continuous floods were responsible for the spread of human infection. Clinical and laboratory results identified 62% of acute cases of S. mansoni. Complementary studies are being conducted to define the impact and epidemiological meaning of the acute schistosomiasis outbreak.
Barbosa
C S
CS
Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, PE, 50670-420, Brasil. cbarbosa@cpqam.fiocruz.br
Domingues
A L
AL
Abath
F
F
Montenegro
S M
SM
Guida
U
U
Carneiro
J
J
Tabosa
B
B
Moraes
C N
CN
Spinelli
V
V
D000208:Acute Disease; D001493:Bathing Beaches; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*