ANÁLISE DESCRITIVA DA SÉRIE DE CASOS PROVENIENTES DO SURTO DE MALÁRIA AUTÓCTONE NA PARAÍBA EM 2019

Abstract

Malaria is the most common parasitosis in the world and was responsible for 627,000 deaths in 2021 according to WHO. The outbreak of autochthonous malaria cases in Paraíba in 2019 highlights the need for control measures, early diagnosis and differential diagnosis with endemic arboviruses. The objective of this work is to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the malaria cases in Paraíba in 2019. Methodology: documentary study based on secondary data obtained from the medical records of patients diagnosed with autochthonous malaria treated at a referral hospital in João Pessoa/PB, in the period from January to December 2019. Results: 20 cases of malaria by Plasmodium vivax, confirmed by thick blood smear, were diagnosed, all from the region of Conde , with no history of traveling in the prior year to the illness. All patients had intermittent fever, typical of malaria, with a period of temperature elevation in 12 hours and a period of defervescence in the subsequent 12 hours, followed by two days without fever, the tertian fever. The other symptoms and their frequency were: headache (75%), vomiting (35%), arthralgia (30%), chills (30%), asthenia (20%), anorexia (20%), diarrhea (10%), myalgia (10%), abdominal pain (5%), hematuria (5%), nausea (5%), pallor (5%) and prostration (5%). The affected patients, 45% presented at least one sign of clinical instability, being characterized as severe malaria. The main symptom of those who received this classification was jaundice (55%), followed by bleeding/thrombocytopenia (33%), pulmonary edema (22%) and anemia (11%). Those cases classified as non-severe malaria, the combination of chloroquine and primaquine was used as therapy. Those classified as severe used Artesunate associated with mefloquine or clindamycin. Conclusion: Cases of autochthonous malaria in Paraíba were concentrated in Conde, a region that has undergone an intense process of deforestation of native forest to make room for urban occupation and real estate speculation, demonstrating that old and potentially new diseases can emerge, even if no lethal case has been recorded, epidemiological surveillance measures must be valued and preserved.