Characteristics of leprosy diagnosed through the surveillance of contacts: a comparison with index cases in Rio de Janeiro, 1987-2010
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
;
107(supl.1): 49-54, Dec. 2012. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-659740
ABSTRACT
Contact surveillance is an important strategy to ensure effective early diagnosis and control of leprosy; passive detection may not be as efficient because it is directly tied to the ready availability of heath care services and health education campaigns. The aim of this study was to reinforce that contact surveillance is the most effective strategy for the control of leprosy. The analysed data were obtained from a cohort of contacts and cases diagnosed through a national referral service for leprosy. We analysed data from patients diagnosed between 1987-2010 at the Souza Araújo Ambulatory in Rio de Janeiro. Epidemiological characteristics of leprosy cases diagnosed through contact surveillance and characteristics of passively detected index cases were compared using a conditional logistic regression model. Cases diagnosed by contact surveillance were found earlier in the progression of the disease, resulting in less severe clinical presentations, lower levels of initial and final disability grades, lower initial and final bacterial indices and a lower prevalence of disease reaction. In this respect, contact surveillance proved to be an effective tertiary prevention strategy, indicating that active surveillance is especially important in areas of high endemicity, such as Brazil.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Population Surveillance
/
Contact Tracing
/
Leprosy
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Etiology study
/
Incidence study
/
Observational study
/
Prevalence study
/
Prognostic study
/
Risk factors
/
Screening study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
Journal subject:
Tropical Medicine
/
Parasitology
Year:
2012
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Fiocruz/BR
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