Malária na região norte do Brasil: uma análise epidemiológica e ambiental

Abstract

Introduction: Malaria is characterized as an acute febrile infectious disease caused by the protozoan of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. Due to its relevance to public health, especially in the states of the Northern region of Brazil, it is essential to assess its epidemiological and environmental situation, as well as to establish a relationship between the disease and rainfall. Methods: This is an ecological study using secondary data available from the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) during the period from 2013 to 2022. Results: During the evaluated years, we confirmed 371 cases of malaria in the Northern region of Brazil, with 2013 having the highest number of cases (16.4%) and 2022 the lowest number of cases (6.5%). Among the states, Rondônia was the most affected (33.4%), and Tocantins had the fewest notifications (1.9%). A higher incidence was observed in males (66.8%), individuals with brown skin (46.1%), aged between 20 and 59 years (90.6%), and with a high school education (18.3%). Among the potentially infective Plasmodium species, the most frequently reported parasitological result was P. vivax, with a prevalence of 87.0%. Regarding the relationship between malaria occurrence and rainfall, a statistically significant relevance was observed only in the 2021/2022 biennium (p=0.0035). Conclusions: The environmental aspects of the disease are significant, as well as the need for further studies on the pathology and better supervision of the proper completion of secondary data.