Onchocerciasis in Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Moraes, Mário Augusto Pinto de
• Data de Publicação: 1973
• Outros Autores: Fraiha Neto, Habib, Chaves, Geovane M
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Digital do Instituto Evandro Chagas (Patuá)
• Texto Completo: https://patua.iec.gov.br/handle/iec/825
• topic: Oncocercose; Oncocercose / diagnóstico; Índios Sul-Americanos; Brasil (BR)

A chance identification of onchocercal nodules in American woman missionaries living among the Waica lndians in northern Brazil has resulted in discovery of a focus of the disease along the Toototobi River in the State of Amazonas. This is the first focus of onchocerciasis to be recorded in Brazil. Of 91 lndians examined, 57 had Onchocerca volvulus rnicrofilaria present in their skins. AlI these lndians were living in three malocas or villages along the course of that river, only a short distance fIam the post occupied by two of the missionaries. Subcutaneous nodules were found in II of the lndians one of whom showed no cutaneous microfilaria. The fact that two of the lndians examined were blind in one eye and another had blepharoconjunctivitis suggests that ocular involvement may be relatively common among those infected with the parasite. However, examinations for microfilaria in the anterior chamber of the eye were not performed. The authors believe that the focus discovered may be quite extensive, corresponding to the geographic distribution of the Yanomama lndian group to which the Waica Tribe belongs.