02678nas a2200541   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653001500051653001000066653000900076653002200085653001100107653001000118653002100128653002100149653002000170653002100190653003100211653001100242653001100253653001100264653002000275653001200295653000900307653001600316653002500332653001600357100001500373700001300388700001400401700001800415700001600433700002300449700002100472700001500493700001500508700001100523700001500534700001500549700001200564245011700576856007700693300001000770490000600780050001500786520132100801022001402122       2013                            d  c201310aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aAged, 80 and over10aBrazil10aChild10aChild, Preschool10aCluster Analysis10aContact Tracing10aEndemic Diseases10aEpidemiological Monitoring10aFemale10aHumans10aInfant10aInfant, Newborn10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aYoung Adult1 aMoura ML N1 aDupnik K1 aSampaio G1 aNóbrega PF C1 aJeronimo AK1 aNascimento-Filho J1 aMiranda Dantas R1 aQueiroz JW1 aBarbosa JD1 aDias G1 aJeronimo S1 aSouza MC F1 aNobre M00aActive surveillance of Hansen's Disease (leprosy): importance for case finding among extra-domiciliary contacts.  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3597486/pdf/pntd.0002093.pdf  ae20930 v7  aMOURA 20133 a<p>Hansen's disease (leprosy) remains an important health problem in Brazil, where 34,894 new cases were diagnosed in 2010, corresponding to 15.3% of the world's new cases detected in that year. The purpose of this study was to use home visits as a tool for surveillance of Hansen's disease in a hyperendemic area in Brazil. A total of 258 residences were visited with 719 individuals examined. Of these, 82 individuals had had a previous history of Hansen's disease, 209 were their household contacts and 428 lived in neighboring residences. Fifteen new Hansen's disease cases were confirmed, yielding a detection rate of 2.0% of people examined. There was no difference in the detection rate between household and neighbor contacts (p = 0.615). The two groups had the same background in relation to education (p = 0.510), household income (p = 0.582), and the number of people living in the residence (p = 0.188). Spatial analysis showed clustering of newly diagnosed cases and association with residential coordinates of previously diagnosed multibacillary cases. Active case finding is an important tool for Hansen's disease control in hyperendemic areas, enabling earlier diagnosis, treatment, decrease in disability from Hansen's disease and potentially less spread of Mycobacterium leprae.</p>  a1935-2735