Chikungunya fever in pregnant women and its immediate repercussions at the birth time: a clinical, epidemiological, and spatial analysis in Belém, Pará State, eastern Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To analyze the clinical-epidemiological profile and spatial distribution of chikungunya fever reported cases in pregnant women, as well as the immediate disease repercussions on newborns, in Belém City, Pará State, Brazil, from 2016 to 2018.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This is a descriptive, ecological, cross-sectional study that used secondary data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System and the Live Births Information System of the Belém Municipal Health Department. The clinical and epidemiological variables of the cases were described, followed by statistical and geostatistical analysis.

RESULTS:

From 52 pregnant women with chikungunya fever, the majority were brown (61.5%), aged between 20 and 29 (48.1%), and had completed high school (36.6%). The cases mainly presented fever, myalgia, rash, and arthralgia. The highest percentage of newborns was born by caesarean section. There was also a predominance of full-term newborns and a higher proportion of neonates with adequate weight. The disease showed a heterogeneous spatial distribution pattern in Belém's neighborhoods, with a very high density in pregnant women living in Ponta Grossa, Agulha, Parque Guajará, Guamá, and Canudos.

CONCLUSION:

An uneven distribution of the disease was observed in different neighborhoods of Belém, highlighting the importance of public health policies aimed at risk groups and areas of higher incidence, with a view to preventing and controlling chikungunya fever in pregnant women.