Epidemiology of the visceral leishmaniasis in children in the city of Montes Claros

ABSTRACT Introduction: The visceral leishmaniasis is an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is a protozoan of the genus Leishmania. This is a serious public health problem with a prevalence of northeastern Brazil. Objective: To identify the epidemiological profile of Visceral leishmaniasis cases in children in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. Methods: We realized a retrospective study of confirmed cases of visceral leishmaniasis in children aged 0 to 12 years, reported to Information System Diseases and Notifications in the period from 2009 to 2011. Results: Were confirmed 37 cases of visceral leishmaniasis in children, which 51.36 percent were female and children aged 1 to 4 years (54.05 percent) were the most affected by the disease. It was found that the majority (94.59 percent) of these children lived in urban areas. The main signs and symptoms shown in the cases were fever (100 percent), splenomegaly (100 percent), hepatomegaly (92 percent) and pallor (92 percent). Regarding cases' evolution, 35 children (94.59 percent) had cure and two (5.41 percent) died. Conclusion: The results contribute to the knowledge of the visceral leishmaniasi's characteristics in the child population of Montes Claros, characterized as endemic area of this disease(AU)