Epidemiological aspects of Leprosy under 15 years old diagnosed at a referral center in the South of Brazil, between 2007-2017: a tendency to change in the detection of new cases?

• Autor(a) principal: Oppermann, Kenselyn
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Salvi, Cristiane dos Santos, Casali, Hellen Marie, Moraes, Paulo Cezar de, Cattani, Cristiane Almeida Soares, Eidt, Letícia Maria
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Hansenologia Internationalis (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.saude.sp.gov.br/hansenologia/article/view/34607
• topic: Hanseníase; Criança; Mycobacterium Leprae; Leprosy; Child; Mycobacterium Leprae

Setting: Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is an infectious and contagious disease, which presents tropism on the skin and peripheral nerves, and its late diagnosis can lead to serious physical and emotional disabilities. Leprosy in children is considered one of the main indicators of the disease trend and suggests intense circulation of Mycobacterium leprae. Methods: A retrospective, observational and analytical study was conducted of 18 children, diagnosed as new cases of Leprosy and registered for treatment at the Ambulatory of Sanitary Dermatology, Porto Alegre, Brazil. The medical and socio-demographic details were obtained from the Information System for Notificable Diseases. Results: During 2007-2017, 478 people were diagnosed as new active cases of Leprosy at our referral center; among the registered patients, 18 (3,76%) were children aged under 15 years, of whom 15 (83,3%) were diagnosed with multibacillary disease and just one was reported with grade 2 of disability (G2D). Between new cases under 15 years of age, seven were detected in 2017. Nearly 11% of the sample developed reactions during the follow-up period; 61,1% were between 10 to 14 years old. Household contacts were identified in 77,7% of the patients. Conclusion: This study shows that despite the more favourable situation in the South of Brazil, the increase in Leprosy incidence in 2017 in individuals under 15 years may reveal a change in the trend of the disease and in the detection of the new cases of the Hansen’s disease in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.