Abstract
In Brazil, leprosy is endemic in three regions: the North, Northeast, and Mid-West. Counties with contiguous binational urban areas are characterized by a constant flow of people, goods, and services, which facilitates the transmission of diseases and influences the epidemiological profile of leprosy. The purpose of this study was to examine territorial differences in relation to the incidence of leprosy, focusing on border counties with contiguous binational urban areas or otherwise. Each county was taken as an information unit for leprosy cases reported during 2001-2011, based on data from original notification records of the state's Department of Health. In counties with contiguous binational urban areas detection rates showed tendency to increase, Virchowian (lepromatous) disease and disability grade II predominated when compared with Groups II and III: 0.64 and 0.54/100,000 inhabitants for Virchowian disease and 0.14 and 0.27/100,000 inhabitants for disability grade II respectively, and were associated with higher transmission rates. The findings demonstrate the role of border areas in maintaining the endemicity of leprosy.
Highlights
In Brazil, the burden of both infectious and parasitic diseases concomitant with non-communicable illnesses complicates the Brazilian health scenario
The purpose of this study was to understand the epidemiological profile of leprosy cases, focusing on counties with contiguous binational urban areas delimited by dry borders between Brazil and Paraguay and comparing these with other border and non-border counties in Mato Grosso do Sul
In this descriptive study conducted in Mato Grosso do Sul state, counties with contiguous binational urban areas were defined as the information units for new leprosy cases reported from 2001 to 2011
Summary
In Brazil, the burden of both infectious and parasitic diseases concomitant with non-communicable illnesses complicates the Brazilian health scenario. The reduction and even eradication of some infectious and parasitic diseases, achieved through immunization programs, vector-control initiatives, and environmental sanitation, have proven insufficient to ensure the expected epidemiological transition[1]. This situation, which stems from factors such as the occupation of urban areas and production processes aimed at the accumulation of capital at the expense of environmental preservation, is marked by the emergence of new illnesses and changes in the epidemiological behavior of longknown ailments[1,2]. The remaining three counties do not adjoin foreign urban areas[6]
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