New strategies for active finding of leprosy cases in the Amazonian region

AbstractINTRODUCTION: The use of the Self-Image Form (SIF) expands the identification of active leprosy cases to neighbors of index cases.METHODS: The SIF was used to screen two groups: case (neighbors of index cases of leprosy) and control (individuals residing next to houses without leprosy) group...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Main Authors: Dony Cristioney Castilho de Campos, Ana Paula Barzan Dutra, Vagner Lucas Suares, Paulo Abner Cardoso de Carvalho, Luís Marcelo Aranha Camargo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0015-2015
https://doaj.org/article/7b480133905a44f5940da22a9963099a
Description
Summary:AbstractINTRODUCTION: The use of the Self-Image Form (SIF) expands the identification of active leprosy cases to neighbors of index cases.METHODS: The SIF was used to screen two groups: case (neighbors of index cases of leprosy) and control (individuals residing next to houses without leprosy) group. A specialist investigated suspected leprosy cases for disease confirmation.RESULTS: New cases of leprosy were diagnosed in the case group (n = 7, 8.6%), but not the control group.CONCLUSIONS: The new surveillance strategy is inexpensive, efficient, and feasible within a primary health strategy. Future studies can help improve the use of the SIF.