Saúde, segregação espacial e vulnerabilidade socioambiental da dengue, em Feira de Santana-BA

Abstract

Dengue, an arbovirus widely associated with urban environments and transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, represents one of the biggest public health concerns in Brazil and worldwide. In Feira de Santana, a rapidly growing municipality in the state of Bahia, disease transmission has intensified over recent years, revealing a persistent and complex problem. The issue is highly relevant within Geography and gains depth from a socio-environmental perspective, particularly in the field of Health Geography. This research, grounded in a systemic approach, adopts an integrated view of the relationships between society and nature, highlighting how human health It is closely linked to inhabited space. This relationship involves factors such as urban dynamics, climate variability and the overall health andscape, all of which contribute to the socio-environmental vulnerabilities that the population faces daily in combating the disease. In this context, the objective of this study was to analyze the urban socio-environmental conditions that generate vulnerability and their repercussions on public health, with a specific focus on dengue in the municipality of Feira de Santana-Bahia, from 2010 to 2020. Regarding the methodology, the research adopts a multidisciplinary approach, which includes literature review, collection of primary and secondary data- from official bodies and historical sources (printed newspapers) and cartographic surveys, with the aim of contextualizing the dengue phenomenon over time. It was observed that accelerated urban expansion in the municipality, combined with high population density and deficient infrastructure, creates favorable conditions for the proliferation of the mosquito vector, increasing the population's vulnerability to outbreaks and epidemics. This scenario is exacerbated by internal disparities, with neighborhoods presenting contrasting socioeconomic and environmental conditions, which contribute to the unequal distribution of the disease. Problems such as lack of basic sanitation, irregular solid waste collection and precarious access to treated water in some neighborhoods increase the risk of breeding sites and heighten the population's exposure to the vector. Furthermore, climatic factors - such as rainfall - contribute to the seasonality of dengue cases, with increased reports during rainy periods, reinforcing the importance of understanding the relationship between climate, urbanization, and health. However, even during the driest periods, the virus continues to circulate, indicating that transmission does not completely cease, underscoring the presence of an urban endemic/epidemic cycle. Thus, in the field of Health Geography, this research explores the main socio-environmental conditions associated with the occurrence of dengue, addressing the multiple facets of this process. The Socio-Environmental Vulnerability map reveals a worrying situation regarding the population‟s exposure to the mosquito: overall the municipality presents medium to high vulnerability, indicating that many neighborhoods face conditions favorable to the proliferation of the vector. Densely populated neighborhoods, such as Campo Limpo and Tomba, face greater difficulties in controlling dengue transmission, possibly due to conditions favorable to mosquito reproduction and ineffective control measures. Finally, the context reinforces the relevance of a geographic approach to health, which considers the interactions between the environment, society, and health in understanding the distribution and intensity of dengue in urban spaces.