Perfil dos pacientes atendidos na II campanha de combate à hanseníase de Sergipe

Abstract

Leprosy is an infectious disease of chronic course, caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. It is marked by dermatoneurological impairment and can lead to physical deformities, which, associated with the stigma that the disease carries, cause significant psychosocial impact. Although it is a curable disease, whose treatment is free and available through the Unified Health System, leprosy has a very relevant epidemiological impact, because its late diagnosis is still a reality seen in both primary care units and referral services. Brazil is one of the countries that most report new leprosy cases in the world, with a prevalence rate of 1.35 records per 10,000 inhabitants in 2017 (above the World Health Organization target) and 27,943 new diagnoses in 2018. The state of Sergipe contributes about 1% of these new cases. For these reasons, strategies aimed at eliminating the disease are essential measures to combat leprosy. With this in mind, the Brazilian Society of Dermatology - Regional Sergipe coordinated the "II Campaign to Combat Leprosy" in 2019, in which 50 patients were examined in the cities of Lagarto and Aracaju. The objective of this study is to establish the profile of the patients attended in this campaign, to evaluate the impact of this initiative and its effectiveness as a tool in the search of patients, and to compare the results obtained with data found in the literature.