Visceral Leishmaniasis Epidemic in Campo Grande, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, from 2002 to 2006

This study aims to describe the visceral leishmaniasis epidemic in the municipality of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Cases of visceral leishmaniasis registered in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases since 2002 - when the epidemic started - up to 2006 were analyzed. During that period there were 568 cases and 43 deaths (7.7% lethality) and 72.1% of deaths occurred in patients aged over 40 years (31 out of 43 patients), mostly associated with co-infection with other pathogens. The highest incidence occurred in the age group under 5 years old. Three of the seven administrative regions have concentrated 67.6% of the cases. The analysis has shown the course of the epidemic, since its beginning, in 2002, and that the incidence remained high up to 2006, in spite of the control measures.