O uso de plantas medicinais no tratamento de leshimaniose tegumentar no município de São Domingos do Capim, Pará

Abstract

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) refer to a group of diseases that mainly affect areas of extreme poverty. These often do not receive due attention and investment in research, prevention and treatment. The Northern region of Brazil is responsible for the largest number of reported cases, especially the municipality of São Domingos do Capim/PA. This motivated the need to understand which natural therapeutic means are used in the treatment of NTDs, especially Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (TL) in this municipality. This study aimed to evaluate the number of positive cases of the disease under study, during the last 5 years in the municipality, as well as to identify the use of medicinal plants that are most used for the treatment of TL in individuals with the disease. This is a descriptive, cross sectional and observational, qualitative study carried out based on the application of a questionnaire to assess the socioeconomic and structural conditions of the studied community. After information was provided by the Municipality's Health Surveillance sector, a total of 06 people were found positive for LT in the last 5 years. This study shows that the numbers of people reported as positive for LT in the Municipality of São Domingos do Capim between 2019 and 2023 are lower when compared to other municipalities in the northern region, despite this, Pará still remains in the ranking of one of the largest states that most notify LT in Brazil. Afterwards, it was noted that four people (04) reported not having used any medicinal plant as a therapeutic measure, and only two (02) people reported having used any medicinal plant at the beginning of the disease treatment, however they still reported that they did not they used it for more than a week, given that they did not obtain good results, and that in addition, the plants used contributed to the worsening of the symptoms. This study shows that despite the Municipality of São Domingos do Capim still having a precarious basic sanitation system, and high social vulnerability among other aggravating factors, LT had a significant drop in cases reported by the local Surveillance. It is important to mention that the majority of participants reported being very well supported by this sector, with appropriate drug treatments for the disease. Therefore, the use of medicinal plants as an alternative cure or treatment for this disease was considered scarce, with LT being considered a rarer practice in this study.