Ministry of Health wants to end diseases linked to poverty – 01/21/2023 – Health

The Ministry of Health’s goal in the management of titular Nísia Trindade is to eliminate diseases in Brazil related to conditions of poverty, precarious health and social exclusion.

The list includes schistosomiasis, filariasis, leprosy, onchocerciasis, trachoma and geohelminthiasis. Experts heard by Sheet they said that these are diseases that can be eliminated with investment in health and improvement of sanitary conditions.

Eliminating a disease means reducing cases to a considerably low level which consequently will lead to reducing the source of infection. With that, there may be no transmission.

Ethel Maciel, Secretary of Health and Environment Surveillance of the Ministry of Health, said that the elimination of these diseases will be one of the secretariat’s priorities.

“Brazil has the capacity to eliminate these diseases, they are concentrated in different risk areas. We can, with planned actions, focus on this elimination, working with PAHO [Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde] to make that happen,” he said.

The Ministry of Health, however, has not yet released details of how this can occur.

According to Adriano Massuda, a sanitary doctor and professor at FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas), the diseases that came into the focus of the folder are directly associated with poverty. They affect poor countries with a broken health system.

He added that before the creation of SUS (Unified Health System) these diseases were responsible for a significant number of deaths in the country.

“They affect people who live in areas of great social vulnerability, without basic sanitation and hygiene conditions and without access to diagnosis and treatment. As the country worsens the economic situation, misery and hunger, cases may increase”, evaluated.

Fatima Marinho, an epidemiologist at Vital Strategies (a global organization made up of specialists and researchers working with governments), said that these diseases still cause complications in the Brazilian population, and some still cause deaths.

“Those who have the mildest type of leprosy, for example, even after treatment, may not fully recover sensitivity at the spots. In more serious cases, there may be sequelae such as loss of strength that imposes physical limitations on using the hands or walking, and also paralysis, mainly of the feet”, he said.

Leprosy is caused by a bacterium from close and prolonged contact with infected people, through sneezing, coughing or sharing objects. More recent data from the Ministry of Health show 18,318 cases in 2021.

The last disease bulletin released by the folder says that in 2020, 127,396 cases of the disease were reported to the World Health Organization in the world. In this context, Brazil ranks second among the countries with the highest number of cases, behind only India.

Trachoma is a type of conjunctivitis caused by a bacteria transmitted by direct contact from person to person through sneezing, sneezing or coughing or indirectly through contaminated objects. Bacterial conjunctivitis is not as common as viral conjunctivitis.

The other four diseases are caused by worms and transmitted in different ways. Schistosomiasis is transmitted by contact with fresh water where there are infected snails. Filariasis and onchocerciasis are transmitted by mosquito bites.

Massuda adds that it is necessary to guarantee the population’s access to health services for diagnosis and treatment, being necessary, for example, to expand primary care with a team made up of community agents, nurses and doctors.

In addition, policies aimed at income, hygiene, food and basic sanitation are advocated.

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DISEASES that the Ministry of Health wants to eliminate

LEPROSY

It is an infectious disease, which can be transmitted from close and prolonged contact with infected people, through sneezing, coughing or sharing objects. The disease has high concentrations in the North, Northeast and Midwest regions. It is related to unfavorable economic, social and environmental conditions.

TRACHOMA

It is a type of conjunctivitis caused by bacteria, being the main cause of preventable blindness of infectious origin in the world. Transmission is via direct person-to-person contact through eye secretions, for example, or indirectly through contaminated objects. From 2008 to 2019, Health data showed 191,048 cases in Brazil.

SCHISTOSOMIASIS

It is a parasitic disease, directly related to poor sanitation. The person acquires the infection when it comes into contact with fresh water where there are snails infected by the worms that cause the disease. The states of the Northeast and Southeast regions are the most affected. In Brazil, from 2009 to 2019, 423,117 cases were detected.

FILARY DISEASE

It is a parasitic disease, considered one of the world’s leading causes of permanent or long-term disability. It is caused by a worm and transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with parasite larvae. According to the Ministry of Health, this disease is being eliminated in the country. The endemic area is restricted to the metropolitan region of Recife, with 2017 as the last year with confirmed case identification.

ONCHOCERCOSIS

It is a parasitic disease in which transmission occurs through the bite of an insect infected with parasite larvae. The endemic area in Brazil is restricted to the Yanomami Indigenous Land on the border with Venezuela, in the northern region of the country, in the states of Amazonas and Roraima. Currently, the disease is in the pre-elimination phase. There are no records of symptomatic cases in Brazil between 2000 and 2018.

GEO-HELMINTHIASIS

Geohelminthiasis constitute a group of parasitic diseases. Infection is caused through contact with soil contaminated with embryonated eggs or larvae of parasites.