Visceral leishmaniasis control in Brazil: Something must be done
- Date:
- December 23, 2013
- Source:
- Brill
- Summary:
- Visceral leishmaniasis is a serious disease in many countries, causing 20,000 to 40,000 deaths worldwide every year. Most cases in the American continent occur in Brazil where this insidious disease has, in several years, caused more mortality than dengue.
- Share:
Visceral leishmaniasis is a serious disease in many countries, causing 20,000 to 40,000 deaths worldwide every year. Most cases in the American continent occur in Brazil where this insidious disease has, in several years, caused more mortality than dengue.
Traditional control by killing infected dogs, spraying insecticides on houses and treating patients has several limitations. The prohibition of DDT, replaced by pyrethroids, contributed to such failure, due to the limited control of pyrethroids on the populations of its principal vector, Lutzomyia longipalpis sand flies.
After carefully reviewing difficulties in the VL control and alleged limitations to DDT, the authors (Carlos Brisola Marcondes and Carlos Henrique Nery Costa) propose a careful re-evaluation of DDT utilization, which does not need to be thrown "in the garbage can of history." As public health workers, the authors are sure to be their obligation to save lives and they intend to contribute to this with such proposal.
Journal Reference:
- Carlos Brisola Marcondes, Carlos Henrique Nery Costa. Visceral leishmaniasis control in Brazil: time to re-evaluate DDT? Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews, Volume 6(4) (2013) DOI: 10.1163/18749836-00001072
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