Rapid HIV testing among leprosy patients: a Brazilian experience

Abstract

Brazil is still an endemic country for leprosy. AIDS is another important clinical problem in Brazil where about 0.6% of the population is HIV-positive and there is little evidence of a decline in AIDS incidence. Although previous investigations have reported HIV1/2 seroprevalences of 0.3% to 33.3% among leprosy patients most were based on a single test/patient with no confirmatory testing. Rapid HIV testing offers a relatively quick and simple method of screening large numbers of leprosy patients for HIV co-infection. Appropriate communication between leprosy and HIV/AIDS programmes should be encouraged.