Epidemiological profile of leprosy in Bacabal -Ma, Brazil, 2008-2017

Abstract

Objective To describe the epidemiological profile of Leprosy in Bacabal in the state of Maranhão. Methods This is a cross-sectional, retrospective study with a quantitative approach, on leprosy cases registered in the Notifiable Diseases Information System from 2008 to 2017, being analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results 1,309 cases were diagnosed, aged between 20 and 34 years (25.7%), male (60.2%), race/black (39.8%), with primary education (63.5%), occupation of agricultural workers (32.3%), primary care reported the majority of cases (49.9%) and lived in urban areas (78.7%). It was found that the predominant operational classification was in Multibacillary cases (76%), in the dimorphic clinical form (60.9%), multiple lesions from 2 to 5 (33%), without affected nerves (60.6%) and the patients did not have any physical disability (45.5%). Only 43% of cases underwent bacilloscopy and Multibacillary polychemotherapy with 12 doses predominated with 75.8% of diagnosed cases. The majority of cases were classified as new (77.8%), were detected by spontaneous demand (38.5%) and more than half were cured (80.3%). Conclusion Leprosy is an endemic disease in the region and is a public health problem due to the high magnitude of cases. The importance of carrying out educational activities focusing on prevention through active search for early diagnosis is highlighted; in order to track cases and contacts in the community in order to reduce physical sequelae, which are a determining factor in coping with the disease.