Effect of vegetation on cutaneous leishmaniasis in Paraná, Brazil

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in the state of Paraná, Brazil. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at analysing the influence of the remaining native vegetation on the prevalence of CL in Paraná. METHODS: Global testing was used for spatial autocorrelation along with simultaneous autoregressive model (SAR). The regression was based on the CL coefficient (cases/100,000 inhabitants) as a function of the percentage of natural vegetation cover, altitude, total number of cases, and spatial density (SD) per km(2); the location data of the Paraná state municipalities and the detection coefficient (DC) (cases/100,000 inhabitants) of autochthonous cases of CL were obtained from the SINAN in 2012 and 2016. Data on the remaining forests were collected from the Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais. FINDINGS: The spatial regression of DC revealed statistical significance for SD (Z = 24.1359, p < 0.05, 2012-2013; Z = 24.0817, p < 0.05, 2013-2014; Z = 33.4824, p < 0.05, 2014-2015; and Z = 27.1515, p < 0.05, 2015-2016. CONCLUSIONS: CL cases are reported in areas with native vegetation, such as in riparian forests. However, vegetation is not the only variable that influences the incidence of CL.