Leprosy and pregnancy in the State of Para: an epidemiological perspective

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Vera Regina da Cunha Menezes Palacios, Clea Nazare; Carneiro Bichara, Jarbas Barbosada Silva Junior, Rodrigo da Silva Dias, Nelson Veiga Goncalves
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2013
• Subjects: Leprosy; Pregnancy; Epidemiology; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Eldorado
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0019-2013; https://doaj.org/article/1db38b6bd0ff45a69b95b0fbd5106977

Introduction A few older publications describe leprosy associated with pregnancy, a situation that has been linked to leprosy exacerbation. This study aimed to describe the detection rate of this association in the State of Pará by county and Integration Region (IR) from 2007 to 2009 via an analysis of sociodemographic, epidemiological and operational indices. Methods This was a descriptive study using information generated by the SINAN. The Detection Coefficient of the Leprosy and Pregnancy Association (DCLP) epidemiological index was constructed to help interpret the endemicity parameters. The disease was considered hyperendemic when greater than two cases per 10,000 inhabitants were identified. Results During the study period, 149 associations were detected, with 14 hyperendemic counties: seven in 2007, five in 2008 and two in 2009. The Carajás Integrated Region displayed the highest DCLP index in the period. Eldorado dos Carajás had the single highest DCLP index (5.7/10,000 inhabitants, 2008), whereas the DCLP index in Conceição do Araguaia was very high in all three years. However, most counties displayed low or medium DCLP indices. The annual averages were 0.31 DCLP (2007), bass; 0.30 (2008), bass and 0.19 (2009), bass. The average DCLP index was 0.26, which is considered low. Three clusters of medium endemicity were identified by the average DCLP in the study period. Conclusions The analyses indicated that the surveillance program is still unsatisfactory in Pará. The interpretation of the endemicity parameters enabled qualitative and quantitative analyses to determine the epidemiological panorama of this association. The identification of high endemicity requires further clarification.