Spatial distribution of tuberculosis cases in a priority Brazilian northeast municipality for control of the disease

The remarkable relation that tuberculosis has with social conditions demands anunderstanding of the dynamics of this aggravation and its occurrence in the territory through geospatial analyses. In this sense, the objective of the present study was to describe the spatial distribution of tuberculosis cases in a municipality in the Northeast Region of Brazil. This is an ecological study considering all cases of tuberculosis reported in the Disease Notification System from 2006 to 2015. The exploratory analysis ofcases included thekernel density estimationand spatial analysis of the area. There were 800 cases of tuberculosis, of which 761 (95.0%) were geocoded. Locations were found to be vulnerable to zero to 31.79 cases per square kilometer, with emphasis on the so-called hot areas, mainly in census sectors belonging to more centralized districts, expanding to peripheral districts. The prevalence of tuberculosis, according to census sectors, ranged from 0.00 to 213 cases/100 inhabitants-year, confirming the heterogeneous, non-random spatial distribution of cases. The study pointed to the need to develop disease control and surveillance actions, considering the intense socio-spatial inequalities of the municipality and the specific interventions, not only in the health area, but also intersectoral and collective interventions aimed at reducing social inequities.