02053nas a2200181   4500000000100000008004100001100001500042700001400057700001400071700001300085700001300098245007400111856007900185300001200264490000700276520157400283022001401857       2015                            d1 aSilva MEGC1 aSouza CDF1 aSilva SPC1 aCosta FM1 aCarmo RF00aEpidemiological aspects of leprosy in Juazeiro-BA, from 2002 to 2012.  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4689066/pdf/abd-90-06-0799.pdf  a799-8050 v903 a<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, able to infect large numbers of people. This work is relevant to Juazeiro-BA, a hyper-endemic area for leprosy, since unravel the behavior of the disease in the area, may suggest the decision making for sectors of surveillance, establishing strategies, organizing and evaluating programs and services.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>To analyze the epidemiology of leprosy in Juazeiro-BA, from 2002 to 2012.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted based in data of the Diseases Notification System, assigned by the service of Epidemiology from Juazeiro-BA, between 2002 and 2012.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>1,916 new cases of leprosy were detected between 2002 and 2012, of which 921 (48.07%) represented male sex, 995 (51.93%) female, and there was a reduction in the incidence rate of leprosy per 100,000 inhabitants. Most carriers were brown individuals, with low levels of education, living in the urban area, being more prevalent in the economically active age group. Through statistical analysis we found that there are more chances of developing sequelae among men, and multibacillary individuals older than 45 years.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The work serves to direct efforts to control this disease, and highlights the importance of active search for new cases to achieve an early diagnosis, reducing the number of sequels and allowing breaking the chain of disease transmission.</p>
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