American cutaneous leishmaniasis in the State of Acre, Brazil

Objective Present a statistical survey of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) in the State of Acre. Methods Data were obtained from the forms of the "Campaign against Leishman iasis", from January 1992 to December 1997. Descriptive statistical analysi s was applied. Results There were 2.557 registered cases. The highest prevalence was found at the microregion of Brasileia (231.8 cases/10,000 inhab.). The predomina nt clinical form was cutaneous (84.05%). The disease occurred mostly among males (71.02%). Half of the cases were among people with 24 years of age or younger Most cases were people with rural occupations. 83.97% of the cases were diagnosed by clinical examination. The longest period to seek medical treatment was registered in the mesoregion of Jurua Valley (10.37 months) Conclusion The high number of cases suggests that it might be necessary to study the psychosocial implications of the disease and identify factors con tributing to the delay in treatment.