02009nas a2200337   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653002500065653001100090653002500101653001100126653003500137653001100172653001200183653000900195653001600204653002400220653001500244653003000259653002400289100001700313700001300330700001300343245008600356856005200442300001100494490000700505520114500512022001401657       2006                            d  c2006 Oct10aAdult10aAnalysis of Variance10aBrazil10aDisease Notification10aFemale10aGeographic Information Systems10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aModels, Statistical10aPrevalence10aResidence Characteristics10aTopography, Medical1 aOpromolla PA1 aDalben I1 aCardim M00a[Geostatistical analysis of leprosy cases in the State of São Paulo, 1991-2002].  uhttp://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rsp/v40n5/en_22.pdf  a907-130 v403 a<p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>To analyze the spatial pattern of leprosy case occurrences in order to identify areas with a probability of disease transmission risks.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>This was an ecological study in which the analysis units were municipalities in the State of São Paulo that were georeferenced at their centroids. The data source was the electronic database of notified leprosy cases at the Epidemiological Surveillance Center of the State of São Paulo, from 1991 to 2001. Geostatistical techniques were used for detecting areas with a probability of leprosy risk, and for quantifying the spatial dependency of cases.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>The spatial dependence detected extended outwards to 0.55 degrees from the georeferenced coordinates, which corresponded to approximately 60 km. The main areas identified as presenting a probability of risk were the northeastern, northern and northwestern regions of the State.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Verification of areas with the probability of leprosy risk using spatial dependence analysis may be a useful tool for assessing health conditions and planning budget allocations.</p>  a0034-8910