[The impact of leprosy elimination strategy on an endemic municipality in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil].
Various strategies for eliminating leprosy as a public health problem have evolved in the last 20 years. In some countries, especially highly endemic ones, the WHO target rate for leprosy elimination fell far short. The current study aimed to analyze the impact of different strategies for reducing leprosy prevalence in Duque de Caxias, a highly endemic municipality in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The study observed the evolution of traditional operational indicators for the disease and their trends in the last 14 years. The indicators were calculated using the National Communicable Diseases Database (SINAN). Strategies that focused on decentralization of patient care and/or localized campaigns were associated with earlier case detection, reduction in prevalence, and shorter patient time in the active registry. An increase in the annual detection rate could be related to the existence of hidden prevalence or individuals with asymptomatic infection. New complementary strategies are needed to eliminate the disease in Duque de Caxias.
da Cunha
Mônica Duarte
MD
Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Cavaliere
Flávia Amorim Meira
FA
Hércules
Flávio Marcondes
FM
Duraes
Sandra Maria Barbosa
SM
de Oliveira
Maria Leide Wal-Del-Rey
ML
de Matos
Haroldo José
HJ
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index