Open AccessNumber of confirmed cases of tuberculosis in Brazil between 2007 and 2016
Author(s) -
Fábio Tenório Silva
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
núcleo do conhecimento
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2448-0959
DOI - 10.32749/nucleodoconhecimento.com.br/health/cases-of-tuberculosis
Subject(s) - tuberculosis , disease , medicine , mycobacterium tuberculosis , extrapulmonary tuberculosis , pulmonary tuberculosis , infectious disease (medical specialty) , demography , environmental health , pathology , sociology
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Asia and Africa are the continents with the largest number of confirmed cases on the planet. The objective of this study was to show the number of confirmed cases of tuberculosis in Brazil between 2007 and 2016. The research was conducted in DATASUS database and in scientific articles. The results show that the number of confirmed cases of the disease remained stable for nine years, presenting a sharp drop in the last year of the study; the southeastern region had the highest number of confirmed cases, followed by the northeast of the country, south, north and midwest, respectively; people in the age group between 20 and 59 years presented the largest number of cases; the male gender is approximately twice more affected by tuberculosis than the female; and pulmonary tuberculosis had much higher numbers than the extrapulmonary form and the cases of people with both types of the disease. Agglomeration of people facilitates the spread of M. tuberculosis bacteria. The number of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis was greater than the number of extrapulmonary cases because it is airborne rapidly in environments with many people. Adult individuals appear to be more susceptible to tuberculosis, as there is no vaccination campaign for this age group. However, the chances of cure are higher when using the correct treatment. Apparently, there was an improvement in the organization of health in Brazil and a better preparation of the health professionals in tuberculosis care.