RESUMO

Between February and October 1987, a febrile illness killed 14 persons and seriously affected at least 14 others in Shumpillan, a remote Peruvian mountain village of 353 people. The illness was characterized by fever, headache, chills, and pallor. The fatality rate of untreated cases was 88%. The patients, 71% of whom were male, were 1-75 years of age. Fatal illnesses progressed from lethargy to coma to death in 3-60 days. Patients treated empirically with chloramphenicol survived. Bartonella bacilliformis was isolated from the whole blood of 3 patients. A serologic study revealed a high prevalence of antibodies to B. bacilliformis in the villagers. It is concluded that the villagers suffered from an epidemic of Oroya fever.

Assuntos

Infecções por Bartonella/epidemiologia , Surtos de Doenças , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Anticorpos Antibacterianos/análise , Bartonella/imunologia , Bartonella/isolamento & purificação , Infecções por Bartonella/tratamento farmacológico , Infecções por Bartonella/mortalidade , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Cloranfenicol/uso terapêutico , Feminino , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/análise , Lactente , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Peru/epidemiologia , Fatores de Risco , Estações do Ano , Inquéritos e Questionários