Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the epidemiological situation of leprosy (Hansen's Disease), in a hyperendemic metropolis in the Central-West region of Brazil. We studied trends over eleven years, both in the detection of the disease and in disabilities, analyzing disparities and/or differences regarding gender and age. This is an ecological time series study conducted in Cuiabá, capital of the state of Mato Grosso. The population consisted of patients diagnosed with leprosy between the years 2008 and 2018. The time series of leprosy cases was used, stratifying it according to gender (male and female), disability grade (G0D, G1D, G2D, and not evaluated) and age. The calendar adjustment technique was applied. For modeling the trends, the Seasonal-Trend decomposition procedure based on Loess (STL) was used. We identified 9.739 diagnosed cases, in which 58.37% were male and 87.55% aged between 15 and 59 years. Regarding detection according to gender, there was a decrease among women and an increase in men. The study shows an increasing trend in disabilities in both genders, which may be related to the delay in diagnosis. There was also an increasing number of cases that were not assessed for disability at the time of diagnosis, which denotes the quality of the services.
Highlights
Leprosy, called Hansen’s Disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which affects Schwann cells, causing their destruction, affecting the skin, and resulting in severe neuropathies, which can lead to physical disabilities [1]
In the 2019 report, Brazil had a detection rate of 13.23 per 100.000 inhabitants far from the goal of less than 1 leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) case per 10,000 inhabitants describe by the World Health Organization
The present study aimed to investigate the epidemiological situation of leprosy and its trend between 2008 and 2018 in a hyperendemic metropolis in the Central-West region of Brazil
Summary
Called Hansen’s Disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which affects Schwann cells, causing their destruction, affecting the skin, and resulting in severe neuropathies, which can lead to physical disabilities [1]. According to WHO 2020 Weekly epidemiological record Global leprosy, India, Brazil and Indonesia reported >10,000 new cases in 2019, classifying them as the three most highly endemic countries [4]. In 2019, Brazil had a detection rate of 13.23 per 100.000 inhabitants [5,6]. WHO stated in the “Towards zero leprosy Global leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) strategy 2021–2030” [1], that the main actions to control the disease should be directed towards leprosy prevention upscaling alongside integrated active case detection, leprosy disease management and its complications and prevent new disability and combat stigma and ensure human rights are respected. Interruption of transmission and elimination of disease are at the core of their strategy document, as well as of the WHO “Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Leprosy” [1,7]
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