title: An analysis of the impact of the Schistosomiasis Control Programme in Brazil.
abstract: The impact of the Schistosomiasis Control Programme (PCE) in Brazil was analyzed, covering the period 1976 to 2003, using the following indicators: percentage of Schistosoma mansoni carriers detected among the population examined in the coproscopic surveys (PPS): mortality rate for schistosomiasis, per 100,000 inhabitants (TME): hospitalization rate for schistosomiasis, per 100,000 inhabitants (TIE): average age of deaths caused by schistosomiasis (IMOE). There was a 38.5% reduction in the PPS after the introduction of the PCE, attributed to the treatment of carriers. Even in hyper-endemic municipalities, such as Conde and Cuitegí, in the state of Paraíba, the PPS fell more than 50% after the first year of treatment. The parasitic burden of the carriers also decreased in the two municipalities. The TME was reduced by 63.4% and the TIE by 77.3%. The mortality rate was highest among the 50-and-above age group. The country's IMOE rose 32.3%. The IMOE was seen to be much lower in the state of Minas Gerais, where the PCE was only initiated in 1983, with very limited coverage.
authors.affiliation: Coordenação de Doenças Transmitidas por Vetores/Esquistossomose, Ministério da Saúde, 70058-900 Brasília, DF, Brazil. ronaldo.amaral@saude.gov.br
authors.forename: Ronaldo Santos do
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Amaral
authors.forename: Pedro Luiz
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Tauil
authors.forename: David Duart
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Engels
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control*