Retrospective seroepidemiological analysis of patients with suspicion of paracoccidioidomycosis in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

The geographic distribution of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo was evaluated in a retrospective study using secondary data from serological analyses, carried out by double immunodiffusion assay of patients with PCM suspicion, from January 1999 to May 2010. Sixty percent of 10,176 patients, from 239 cities, were serologically reactive to P. brasiliensis. The cities that showed the most serological reactivity among patients were Sao Joao da Boa Vista (85%), Piracicaba (75%), Sorocaba (73%), Campinas (72%) and Sao Paulo (62%). Sao Paulo state has an area of 248,209.4 km(2); the climate is tropical and sub-tropical with annual temperatures between 18 and 24 degrees C, high rainfall (900 to 1800 mm/year), rainy summers and mild winters. It also features large areas composed of acidic soils, and is one of the greatest contributors to Brazilian agricultural production and, separately, the largest producer of orange juice and, the ninth greatest producer of soy and sugar cane and the fourth largest coffee producer. We suggest that the climatic characteristics associated with soil type and development of primary activities can contribute to the endemic potential of PCM in Sao Paulo state.