Jorge Lobo's Disease (Keloidal Blastomycosis) and Tinea Imbricata in Indians from the Xingu National Park, Central Brazil

Skin diseases in indigenous population: retrospective epidemiological study at Xingu Indigenous Park (XIP) and review of the literature

“…In Mato Grosso State, Baruzzi et al . reported the first cases of “tokelau” ( tinea imbricata ) in villages in XIP . In 1991, Grieco described 11 cases in upper Xingu .…”

“…In Mato Grosso State, Baruzzi et al reported the first cases of "tokelau" (tinea imbricata) in villages in XIP. 5 In 1991, Grieco described 11 cases in upper Xingu. 6 Some authors have associated the emergence of this mycosis with habits of primitive life and isolated communities.…”

Tinea imbricata in the Americas

“…Some other names of the disease are elegant tinea, circinate tinea, and lace tinea, and in certain parts of Polynesia and America local names such as chimbere´, cacapash, shishiyotl and ron˜a are also used [5]. One of the first cases reported in Central America was in Guatemala by Figueroa and Conant [7] in 1940, and in Mexico the first case was described in 1945 by Latapí and confirmed in 1947 by González-Ochoa and Lavalle [8]; after that some other cases have been reported along Central and South America, principally in Brazil [9,10].…”

“…The second focus of importance is located in southern Asia (China and India) and the third focus is in Central and South America, especially Brazil [9], Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala [7] and Mexico, this last being the northernmost focus in which the disease can be found [14].…”

Macrophage and TGF-β immunohistochemical expression in Jorge Lobo's disease

“…Thus, progression is theoretically more associated with activities related to the mechanism of infection rather than with genetic or specific hormonal factors. This finding is confirmed by the relatively higher frequency of Jorge Lobo's disease among women who cultivate the land in some Amazonian tribes [17,18]. On the other hand, there are no studies correlating the immune response to Jorge Lobo's disease with specific HLA loci, a fact supporting the importance of fungal ecology in the mechanism of transmission and, consequently, in the different incidence of the disease between men and women [4,5].…”