Situação evolutiva da coccidioidomicose no Brasil

Abstract

Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis caused by the dimorphic fungus that has two species: Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioide posadasii. This infection may have an asymptomatic manifestation or may manifest itself from a simple respiratory infection to more severe symptoms, and may spread and reach other organs, especially the skin. This fungus lives in the soil in filamentous form that form artroconids, being this the infecting form for the man. The portal of entry occurs through the airways that when inhaled lodge in the lung where they become spherules which is the parasitic form of the fungus. This fungus is endemic mainly in the southwestern United States, northern Mexico and Northeast Brazil. The first reports of coccidioidomycosis occurred in 1978 in Bahia and 1979 in Piauí, described in the works of Gomes et al. and Viana et al., respectively. However, it was only in 1998 that Brazil entered the geographical map of the disease, after the first outbreaks in two northeastern states. In five states the manifestation of this mycosis are known: Piauí, Ceará, Maranhão, Bahia and more recently Pernambuco. Armadillo hunting is directly related to the incidence of the disease in endemic areas in Brazil. The present study aimed to collect and review cases in the literature in order to better understand the occurrence and evolution of coccidioidomycosis in Brazil. The knowledge of this ringworm and its epidemiology by health professionals is important for a faster and more accurate diagnosis, and thus avoiding erroneous treatments or their underreporting, especially in endemic areas.