Epidemiological Profile of Leprosy in the State of Pernambuco, From 2015 to 2020

Abstract

Leprosy is a chronic, infectious, contagious and granulomatous disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium leprae or Hansen's bacillus, which has a predilection for skin cells and peripheral neurons. It is a disease that, when treated, has high cure rates, but if left untreated, it can leave the affected individual with sequelae. This article is an epidemiological study of a quantitative descriptive type, using primary data, collected from government databases, and aims to analyze the epidemiological profile of leprosy in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and compare it to the profile. of this disease in the country, through the indicators sex, age, education, pregnancy, race, age group, number of skin lesions, number of sputum smears performed, mode of entry, clinical form, assessment of the degree of physical disability at diagnosis, current operational classification and notified therapeutic scheme. There is a high prevalence of endemic diseases in Pernambuco, as well as in the Northeast region as a whole, which is attributed to low levels of human development and sociocultural production. There is a high discrepancy in the number of notifications of leprosy among the municipalities of Pernambuco, which stems from the underreporting of cases and the weakness in the municipalities' control strategy. A higher percentage of leprosy cases was observed in men, brown, over 15 years old, with incomplete primary education and with entry mode as new cases, characterizing the disease not only as a public health problem, but also a socioeconomic one.