@article{article,
  keywords = {Brazil, leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae, epidemiological monitoring, serology, spatial analysis},
  author = {Ribeiro G and Barreto J and Bueno IDC and Costa B and Lana FCF},
  title = {Uso conjunto de los marcadores serol{\'o}gicos y del an{\'a}lisis espacial en la vigilancia epidemiol{\'o}gica de la lepra},
  abstract = {<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the combined use of serologic markers and spatial analysis to increase the sensitivity of leprosy epidemiological surveillance.</p>

<p><strong>Method: </strong>This cross-sectional study was performed with neighbors of leprosy cases and neighbors and family members of schoolchildren with a positive anti-phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) test in Diamantina, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Neighbors were those living within a 100-m radius of schoolchildren or leprosy cases. Data collection included a semi-structured interview, dermatologic examination, and rapid ML Flow test. All residential addresses were georeferenced. Multivariate regression and spatial analysis were performed with anti-PGL-I seropositivity as the dependent variable.</p>

<p><strong>Results: </strong>The study included 1 491 individuals: 1 009 (67.7\%) family members and neighbors of schoolchildren with positive serology test and 482 (32.3\%) neighbors of leprosy cases. Of the total, 421 (28.2\%) were positive for anti-PGL-I. Seropositivity was higher among family members and neighbors of seropositive schoolers ( \&lt; 0.001), among people with family income of 1 minimum wage ( \&lt; 0.001), among the youngest participants ( \&lt; 0.001), and among those living in homes with one to five rooms ( = 0.007). The seropositivity rate was higher in the geographic area corresponding to seropositive schoolchildren ( \&lt; 0.001), that is, the spot with the highest number of cases was different from the spot with the highest rate of seropositivity.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The combined use of serologic markers and spatial analysis allowed us to easily identify operational weaknesses of services and a possible occult leprosy endemism in the municipality{\textquoteright}s urban census tracts. Tracing of social contact and neighbors, active search, educational campaigns, school surveys, and territorial analyses facilitate the early diagnosis of leprosy.</p>
},
  year = {2021},
  journal = {Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health},
  volume = {45},
  pages = {e129},
  month = {01/2021},
  issn = {1680-5348},
  url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8603995/pdf/rpsp-45-e129.pdf},
  doi = {10.26633/RPSP.2021.129},
  language = {por, eng, spa},
}