The authors describe an outbreak of American cutaneous leishmaniasis from February 1993 to September 1994 in the districts of Sousas and Joaquim Egídio, Campinas, São Paulo State. Out of a total of 25 cases, seven occurred in the countryside, nine in the periurban area, and nine in the urban area. The authors observed a shift in the occurrence of leishmaniasis cases from rural to urban areas. Cases in males predominated over females (60%/40%). Some 44% of the cases occurred in individuals ranging from 11 to 30 years of age. Some 48% of cases occurred in students, domestic workers, and housewives. In 90% of the cases, the disease presented as a single lesion, located predominantly on the upper and lower limbs. The appearance of cases in the region is probably related to the expansion of urban areas occurring in the 1970s and 1980s, a trend which intensified further more recently.
Leishmaniasis; Epidemiology; Ecology; Sandflies
