Epidemiological aspects of leprosy contacts in the in the municipality of São Luís-Ma

• Autor(a) principal: Peixoto, Bianca Kelen de Sousa
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Figueiredo, Ivan Abreu, Caldas, Arlene de Jesus Mendes, Correa, Rita da Graça Carvalhal Frazão, Aquino, Dorlene Maria Cardoso de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Hansenologia Internationalis (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.saude.sp.gov.br/hansenologia/article/view/35110
• topic: hanseníase; contato; controle; leprosy; contact; control

A retrospective study was made in São Luís, Maranhão, aiming to describe the situation of leprosy contacts. The results point the sanitary district of Bequimão with the highest number of contacts (38,8%). Female contacts were more frequent (50,3%), as well as older than 14 (66,5%) and with first degree blood relation (59,1%) to the index case. Regarding the BCG vaccine situation of contacts, in 66,5% this information wasn’t registered and 33,4% were vaccinated. From a total of 583 examined contacts, 6,5% had a leprosy diagnosis, the borderline type diagnosed in 44,7% of them. The evaluation of contact surveillance activities performed was considered precarious in the majority of the districts, exception made to the sanitary districts of Itaqui-Bacanga and Vila Esperança, considered regular. It is concluded that there’s a need to stregthen epidemiologic surveillance actions and that leprosy contacts control must become one of the pillars of actions to eliminate this disease as a public health problem.