Operational failures of leprosy control in household social networks with overlapping cases in endemic areas in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze institutional/programmatic vulnerability of health services in the development of health care actions for people affected by leprosy and contact surveillance.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 based on primary data from a sample of leprosy cases notified between 2001-2014 with overlapping cases in household social networks (HSN) in municipalities in the states of Bahia, Piauí and Rondônia, Brazil.

RESULTS: A total of 233 leprosy cases were analyzed, 154 (66.1%) belonged to HSN with 3 or more leprosy cases. In 53.2% of cases, 2 or more generations were affected, this being an outcome associated with absence of dermato-neurological examination (prevalence ratio 1.32; confidence interval [95%CI 1.10;1.59]; p-value=0.004).

CONCLUSION: Operational failures in the surveillance of leprosy contacts in areas of high endemicity reinforce the character of institutional/programmatic vulnerability in HSN contexts with more than one case of leprosy in the three states analyzed.