Leishmaniasis: an opportunity for the development of a new domain in nursing

EDITORIAL

Leishmaniasis - an opportunity for the development of a new domain in nursing

Dra Heloísa Cristina Quatrini Carvalho Passos Guimarães

Enfermeira. Pesquisadora Cientifica V do Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima

The Americana Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) is a skin disease that deserves attention, because of its alarming dimension, the risk of producing deformities in humans and also negative psychological aspects reflected in social interaction and in economic fields, since in most cases can be considered occupational.

This disease, from the family of the anthropozoonoses, constitutes a public health problem in 88 countries across four continents: Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. The World Health Organization also considers it one of the six most important infectious diseases in the world, due to its high rate of prevalence and because is the origin of deformities⁽¹⁾.

It can be concluded that in Brazil, the LTA has three epidemiological types of transmission: 1)Wild - in this type, the transmission occurs in areas of primary vegetation because it is a zoonotic disease of wild animals and infects men when they come into contact with environments where enzootic occurs; 2) Occupational y leisure - this type is related to jungles exploitation and deforesting to build roads, hydroelectric power plants, to settle populations, logging, agricultural development, military training, and ecotourism; 3) Rural and suburban areas of colonization - this type is related to migration processes as well, by the occupation of mountain slopes and formation of agglomerates in urban centers associated with secondary or residual bushes⁽²⁾.

The impact of global climate change on human health has been studied by many professionals - who highlighted the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes- such is the leishmaniasis case.

This concern involves different professionals; however, nurse are not yet still widely involved in environmental causes and in a wide range of possibilities encountered in the field of health education, which provides opportunities for the individual to make their choices and have benefits from them.

Ecological studies offer opportunities for nurses to develop a new domain, where individuals can opt for building a healthy environment where it can live with good quality of life, involving his family, community and society.

REFERENCES

• ¹
  Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Manual de Vigilância da Leismaniose Tegumentar Americana/ Ministério da Saúde, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. 2a ed. Atual. Brasília: Editora do Ministério da Saúde, 2007. 180p.
• 2. Carmo, EH; Barreto ML; Silva J.B. Mudanças nos padrões de morbimortalidade da população brasileira: os desafios para um novo século. Epidemiol Serv Saúde 2003;2(2):63-75.

Leishmaniose - oportunidade para o desenvolvimento de um novo domínio na enfermagem

Dra Heloísa Cristina Quatrini Carvalho Passos Guimarães

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  27 Sept 2010
• Date of issue
  2010