Cryptococcosis: Identification of Risk Areas in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The Brazilian Amazon has a specific epidemiological profile for cryptococcosis, considering its social and economic inequality, health reality, and low access to health services. Furthermore, Brazil and Colombia have the highest cryptococcosis incidence rates in Latin America. In this study, we identified the areas of risk for cryptococcosis in the state of Pará in the Brazilian Amazon. This was an ecological study of patients admitted to a referral hospital from 2008 to 2018, aged 13 years or older, and of both sexes. The spatial distribution was determined using ArcGis 10.3.1 software. Cryptococcosis was confirmed in 272 cases. The incidence rate was 3.41 cases/100,000 inhabitants. Spatial distribution was concentrated in the Metropolitana de Belém, Nordeste Paraense, and Marajó mesoregions. The sociodemographic profile consisted of 62% men, aged between 24 and 34 years (36%), without completed secondary education (64.7%), and with occupations varying between agricultural activities (13.8%) and household activities (22%). The mean hospitalization time was 39 days; the prevalent clinical form was neurological (89.7%). The mortality rate among patients with cryptococcosis was up to 40%. Knowledge of the real magnitude of the disease in the Brazilian Amazon makes it possible to identify areas with the greatest risks and to propose control and epidemiological surveillance programs.

Cryptococcal infections in individuals with diabetes: an epidemiological analysis of SUS data in Brazil from 2011 to 2020

“…O DALY do período foi de 28.104 anos de vida perdidos. Em relação às infecções criptocócica, o Brasil é considerado um dos países com maiores taxas de incidência de criptococose na América Latina (REIS et al, 2022). Embora seja crescente as publicações sobre criptococose e a relação com a diabetes seja considerada em grande parte dos estudos, ainda são poucas as informações referentes ao perfil epidemiológico no Brasil.…”