INTRODUCTION: This study describes the epidemiological aspects of TB among Brazilian Native Indians aged less than 15 years-old in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, between 2000 and 2006. METHODS: A retrospective observational study based on secondary data collected from the health system of Brazilian indigenous peoples, Special Indigenous Sanitary District (DSEI), and National System of Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) databases. The variables analyzed were: frequency of TB according to sex, age, clinical presentation and outcome. The Fisher test and the incidence tendency curve were calculated (p<0.01). RESULTS: TB prevalence was 20.4% (224/1,096). The incidence rate decreased 14% per year during the study period. TB was more prevalent among Brazilian indigenous individuals aged less than 5 years-old and among those aged less than one year-old. More than half of TB cases were male and the most common clinical presentation was pulmonary TB (92.9%). Cure was the most common outcome (91.1%), followed by abandoned treatment (3.6%) and death (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The high cure rate, reduced mortality and the progressive decrease in TB incidence rate during the study period indicate the effectiveness of supervised treatment of the new TB control model implemented among Brazilian indigenous peoples on 2000.
Tuberculosis; Children; South American indigenous peoples
