Dados do Trabalho

Título

LEPROSY IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION FROM BRAZIL: NOTIFICATIONS FROM 2010 TO 2019

Introdução

Introduction: Leprosy is a chronic disease, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It is characterized by a decrease or loss of thermal, pain and tactile sensitivity, as well as muscle strength.

Objetivo

Objective: This study aimed to describe the characteristics of the pediatric population with leprosy in Brazil.

Métodos

Methods: An ecological study was carried out in July 2022 from the health information of the Brazilian Health Unified System databases. The analysis comprised the number of notified cases in Brazil from 2010 to 2019. The main variables analyzed were: sex, skin color, age (0-14), region of notification, and diagnostic operational class. Descriptive statistics were performed through absolute (n) and relative (%) frequencies.

Resultados

Results: A total of 23,575 leprosy cases were reported, with a decrease from 2,811 in 2010 to 1,725 in 2019. Most patients were male (51.7%), with brown skin color (65.4%) and aged between 10 and 14 years (65.7%). In the distribution by region of the country, it was observed that 48.9% of the total occurred in the Northeast, 26.6% in the North, 14.1% in the Midwest, 9.5% in the Southeast, and 0,9% in the South. The most prevalent diagnostic operational class was the paucibacillary (51%).

Conclusões

Conclusion: There was a total decrease in leprosy cases in Brazil, but there is still vulnerability to this disease in some regions, such as in the Northeast of Brazil. Therefore, prevention and early detection of the disease must be encouraged to combat this public health problem.

Palavras chave

Key-words: Leprosy; Health Policy; Epidemiology.

Declaração de conflito de interesses de TODOS os autores

There are no conflicts of interest.