Distribuição espacial e análise epidemiológica dos casos de malária na região Nordeste.

Abstract

Malaria is an infectious-parasitic disease widely recognized as one of the main challenges to public health around the world. The Brazilian Northeast has conditions conducive to the development of epidemic outbreaks due to socioeconomic and environmental factors, as well as the presence of susceptible vectors. The objective of this study was to present the epidemiological profile and analyze the spatial distribution of malaria cases in the Northeast region over the time series from 2013 to 2022. Epidemiological, descriptive, documentary, and quantitative study was conducted, based on secondary data of confirmed and reported cases obtained from the DATASUS/Ministry of Health database. The analysis covered the following variables: the number of confirmed malaria cases in the Northeast region, gender, age group, race, education level, area of residence of those infected, responsible parasite species, and autochthony. During the specified period, 1088 cases were reported, with a male gender prevalence of 74.8% (814), primarily in the age group of 20-59 years, accounting for 76.7% (684). The majority of cases were reported among individuals of black/brown race, making up 80.3% (863), and 32.7% (356) resided in urban areas with low education levels at 45.5% (263). Spatial analysis revealed that the state of Piauí had the highest prevalence coefficient, and Bahia had the highest concentration of autochthonous cases. Regarding the diagnosed species, there was a predominance of Plasmodium vivax (69.0%), followed by P. falciparum (22.8%). Finally, it is evident that there is a lack of control in the disease transmission chain, which highlights the need for more efficient epidemiological surveillance.