Epidemiological aspects of leptospirosis in the Brazilian population (2007-2022) and its relationship with pets

The aim of this article was to analyze the epidemiological variables of cases (2007-2022) and deaths (2007-2021) of human leptospirosis in Brazil, and to correlate the data on this zoonosis with the contact between humans and pets. This is an epidemiologic, ecological, cross-sectional, quantitative, and descriptive study. Data from the Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan) and the Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM) were analyzed. 55.779 cases of leptospirosis were reported. It was observed that the regions with the highest number of notifications were the Southeast, South and North regions, and 2011 was the year with the highest prevalence of the disease. Males, whites, those aged between 20 and 39 years, and those with incomplete education from 5th to 8th grade of primary school were the most affected by the infection. We identified 304 cases of infection in pregnant women of various gestational ages. Leptospirosis killed 8.37% of those infected. The victims were male, between 50 and 59 years old, white, single and less educated. It's concluded that conducting epidemiologic surveys on leptospirosis in Brazil is crucial to understand the burden of this disease, identify risk factors, and develop effective strategies for prevention and control.