Infraestrutura de saneamento básico e incidência de doenças associadas: uma análise comparativa entre Belo Horizonte e Ribeirão das Neves - Minas Gerais

Abstract

Despite of the recognized importance of sanitation services over patterns of population morbidity and mortality, it is still possible to regard a discrepancy between regions and localities in Brazil. Thus, this work discusses the importance of the relationship between sanitation and health through the study of basic sanitation infrastructure and the incidence of associated diseases, in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Ribeirão das Neves. For this purpose, analyzes were made of the population service rates for basic sanitation services, as well as the rates of hospitalization for leptospirosis, cholera and diarrhea. The results revealed that despite being part of the same metropolitan area, both cities studied showed significant differences in relation to the provision of basic sanitation services, particularly related to sewage treatment and disposal of solid waste. Belo Horizonte is very close to the universal service provision, while Ribeirao das Neves does not treat even 10% of their sewage. However, in the cases of hospitalizations for the studied diseases, both municipalities have some similar situations, which raises the discussion of other factors that may affect public health, such as importance of health education for effective control of infectious diseases.