EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF LEPROSY IN PATROCINIO / MG IN THE PERIOD 2001-2014

• Main Author: Oliveira, Marlice Fernandes de
• Publication Date: 2015
• Other Authors: Oliveira, Natália Cristina de, Caixeta, Kaique Ferreira, Castro, Gisélia Gonçalves de
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Hansenologia Internationalis (Online)
• Download full: https://periodicos.saude.sp.gov.br/hansenologia/article/view/36171
• topic: Hanseníase; Epidemiologia; Detecção; Leprosy; Epidemiology; Detection

Leprosy is a contagious infectious disease of chronic evolution characterized by dermatological and neurological signs and symptoms. Clusters consist in areas with increased risk of disease. The region named Triangulo Mineiro belongs to Cluster 9 of leprosy in Brazil with Patrocínio considered highly endemic. This study aimed to determine the case detection rate and identify epidemiological characteristics of leprosy in the city of Patrocínio, Minas Gerais State. This was an observational, descriptive, retrospective epidemiological study of cases from 2001 to 2014. Data were collected from the Epidemiological Surveillance records of the city and analyzed using descriptive statistics including absolute frequencies, percentages and means. The Pearson correlation and the epidemiological indicator of the prevalence coefficient of the Ministry of Health were used for the case detection rate. There was a significant correlation of 1% according to the t-test, i.e., as the national leprosy detection rate increases, the detection rate in Patrocínio also increases. By temporal analysis, 50% of the years analyzed showed high detection rates for new cases, followed by medium and very high detection rates for 35.7% and 24.3% of the years, respectively. The epidemiological study of leprosy in Patrocinio showed a predominance of males (64.82%), Caucasians (62.06%), the borderline clinical form (32.4%), and age between 31 and 40 years (23.4%) with most cases living in urban areas (97.59%). This study succinctly shows a distribution of data and population characteristics of leprosy in the city that can be used for future research to plan control strategies and health measures.