title: Distribution of paracoccidioidomycosis: determination of ecologic correlates through spatial analyses.
abstract: Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is endemic in Latin America and in countries like Brazil it carries a high mortality rate. The fungus' habitat has not been precisely determined. The present study aims to identify ecologic correlates based on PCM distribution in a hyper-endemic area in southeastern Brazil. The Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial statistics were used to associate environmental attributes, human population density and, PCM distribution. By means of the Pearson r correlation coefficient, the highest statistically significant associations with prevalence density were the percent area (by county) of: basaltic rocks (r=0.63; P <0.0001), Podzolic soils (r= -0.48; P <0.001), Latosol soils (r=0.40; P <0.01), mean annual precipitation between 1500 and 1600 mm (r = 0.46; P < 0.001) and, mean precipitation during the wet season between 940 and 1040 mm (r= -0.44; P <0.01). Soil texture and precipitation analyzed together reached r=0.61 (P <0.000002) for fine-textured soils with annual precipitation above 1400 mm. Environmental correlates indicate that moisture availability plays an important role in PCM distribution.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista/UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ligia Barrozo
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.forename: Sílvio Alencar
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bagagli
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004463:Ecology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D010229:Paracoccidioidomycosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D011156:Population Density; D015995:Prevalence; D011891:Rain; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D012987:Soil