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Epidemiological analysis of child leprosy in a basic family health unit in Belém-PA

Abstract
Introduction: Leprosy is a dermatoneurological, chronic and granulomatous disease of slow evolution, caused by a mandatory intracellular organism called Mycobacterium leprae or Hansen's bacillus, which mainly affects the integument and the peripheral part of the nervous system. It is characterized as a disease of compulsory notification in Brazil and, therefore, it is necessary to observe whitish, reddish or brown spots on any areas of the skin, promoting a tingling and numbness sensation, with decrease or absence of pain and sensitivity. The disease can affect all age groups, however, when the disease is expressed in childhood, especially in the age group of up to five years, it indicates high endemicity, lack of information about the disease and lack of effective health education actions, especially when it comes to children. Brazil is responsible for 93% of all leprosy notifications in the American continent, in which about 8% of these cases occur in children under the age of 15. Pará is the fourth state with the highest number of confirmed leprosy cases in children under 15 years in the country. Objective: to know the epidemiological profile of patients with Hansen's disease in children under 15 years admitted to a Basic Health Unit (UBS) in Pará over a period of 4 years.Methods: Cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study. Data were collected from 9 medical records and compulsory notification forms, from January 2014 to May 2018 at UBS, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics. For data analysis, computing resources were used, through processing in the Microsoft Excel system, BioEstat Software version 5.0, all in Windows 7 environment. Results: There was a significant difference in terms of sex, with 78% men and 22% women and predominant age group was 9 years. As for the disease, 60% of the cases were multibacillary with more than 5 lesions and 40% of the cases were paucibacillary with a single lesion. Adherence to MDT treatment with Blister was 80% with 12 doses and 20% with 6 doses. Conclusion: It was observed that the majority of children affected by the disease have precarious socioeconomic conditions, presenting housing with few rooms, unhealthy conditions, low family income and family history of leprosy. Despite having a decrease in leprosy numbers, in 2018 a new case emerged, which is important to control and prevent the disease.

More information

Type
Journal Article
Author
Jorge JM
Maia JTR