In 2021, Manaus recorded 4,465 cases of malaria, i.e. one reduction of 15.4% compared to the previous year, when 5,277 cases of the disease were reported. The data comes from the Ministry of Health.
With the decline in the number of cases, the capital moved from 7th to 9th position in the ranking of the ten Brazilian municipalities with the highest number of malaria registrations in the country.
Municipalities with the most cases
The list of ten municipalities, considered to have the greatest epidemiological importance for malaria in Brazil, includes four towns in the Amazon: Barcelos, São Gabriel da Cacheira, Manaus and Tefe. Other municipalities of Roraima, Rondônia, Pará and Acre are also included in the ranking.
According to data from the Information System on Epidemiological Surveillance of Malaria (Sivep Malaria) of the Ministry of Health, the municipality with the most cases of the disease was Barcelos (AM), with 10,433 registrations, followed by Alto Alegre (RR), with 10,024 occurrences. .
São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), with 9,427 cases; Porto Velho (RO) with 7,717 records; Jacareacanga (PA), with 7,456 occurrences; Itaituba (Pennsylvania), with 4,992; Amajari (RR), with 4,505 cases; Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), with 4,488 registrations; Manaus (AM), with 4,465 occurrences; and the town of Tefé (AM), with 3,374 cases, complete the list.
Prevention and follow-up
According to the municipal health secretary of ManausShádia Fraxe, endemic disease control officers carried out prevention and follow-up work on cases recorded in the capital.
“Semsa’s objective is to strengthen early diagnosis, rapid treatment, active search for suspected cases and vector control against the mosquito that transmits the disease. Endemic agents are trained to recognize signs and symptoms and maintain constant surveillance, make home visits to collect examination materials, issue medications and supervise the patient’s treatment, if necessary,” explains Shádia.
The head of the Semsa malaria control center, João Altecir Nepomuceno da Silva, points out that the municipality of Manaus showed a continued reduction in cases of the disease since 2018, when there were 8,347 occurrences. Following the historical series of cases, Manaus recorded 6,530 occurrences in 2019, 5,277 in 2020 and 4,465 in 2021.
“In total, between 2017 and 2021, Manaus shows a 57.7% reduction in malaria cases. 10,557 cases of malaria were reported in 2017 compared to 4,465 in 2021”, underlines João Altecir.
In addition to the decrease in cases, João Altecir points out that information from Sivep Malaria, updated on March 10, also shows that Manaus is the only one, among the ten municipalities with the highest number of cases, which has not recorded, in 2021, local transmission caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which is one of the protozoan species transmitted to humans by the mosquito bites of the genus Anopheles, responsible for malaria.
“Plasmodium falciparum is the most aggressive agent that causes disease and is responsible for malaria deaths. The control of this transmission is one of the objectives set by the National Program for the Fight against Malaria. In Manausis a constant challenge, since the capital of Amazonas experiences epidemiological pressure from other municipalities that register the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum, being a point of passage, mobility and great circulation of people, ”he explains.
The main symptoms of malaria are: high fever, chills, tremors, sweating and headache. In some cases, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue and lack of appetite may occur. During the presentation of the symptoms of the disease, the patient must seek one of the health facilities or the reference laboratory for the management of suspected cases of malaria.
