Perfil epidemiológico dos atendimentos antirrábicos humanos no Brasil, no período de 2010 a 2017.

Abstract

Rabies is an infectious zoonotic disease of viral etiology that causes acute encephalitis in mammals. With a large socioeconomic impact and a lethality of approximately 100%, it is still considered a serious public health problem for Brazil. Both the disease and the anti-rabies care are compulsorily notified, which are processed and registered by the Disease Information System (SINAN), throughout the national territory, through standardized forms. The main objective of the study was to analyze the epidemiological profile of human anti-rabies care in Brazil, from 2010 to 2017. This work is an ecological, descriptive, retrospective study based on data obtained from the Department of Immunization and Communicable Diseases, from human anti-rabies care sheets in Brazil prepared by SINAN, from 2010 to 2017. There were 4,973,131 notifications, most of which were male (53%), which can be explained by labor activities (occupational risk); adults (45.2%), for the movement by public roads and for the care with pets; urban area (83.6%), which suggests higher population density and lower underreporting; dog as the most prevalent animal during aggressions (82%), due to the high number of dogs not domiciled and pet; 49.7% increase in bat attacks, suggesting habitat destruction and adaptation to cities; observation of the animal plus vaccination schedule (46.7%) regarding the type of treatment indicated, which when there is adequate indication, is effective for reducing infections in the urban cycle; 3% of correct treatments in relation to indirect exposure to the animal, which suggests that health professionals are unaware of the treatment indicated by the Ministry of Health. It was concluded that inappropriate prophylactic treatments were observed, and lack or inadequate completion of the form notification, which demonstrates the need for training of health professionals for a correct institution of human rabies prophylaxis and proper completion of notification forms. The increase in the number of bat injuries reveals the need for more rigorous surveillance of bats with shelter monitoring and population control by catching the species given the prevalence of bat-transmitted human rabies in Brazil in recent years.