Spatial analysis of American Visceral Leishmaniasis in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Central Brazil

Summary Objectives To map American Visceral Leishmaniasis (AVL) in Mato Grosso do Sul State (Central Brazil). Methods The distribution of AVL was mapped, using the Geographic Information System. Results The disease was endemic to the Corumbá Region from 1913 to 1998. Spatial and temporal analysis indicated that the expansion route and dissemination through the State of the disease has been from west to east, coinciding with three different human interventions; two of them, a federal highway and a rail-road, were constructed in the early twentieth century, from east to west, from Bauru city, in São Paulo State, to Corumbá city, in Mato Grosso do Sul State. The third anthropogenic intervention was the construction of a gas pipeline that started in 1998, and attracted thousands of workers. This construction route has the same direction, west to east, and timescale as the observed expansion and dissemination of AVL. Conclusions The results relate the expansion of the disease to intense human traffic along the route of spread.