Perfil epidemiológico da Hanseníase no Brasil.

Abstract

Hansen’s disease is a chronic infectious condition that predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Known for many years as “Leprosy”, its first reports already demonstrated its stigmatizing nature, which forced patients to isolate themselves from their social environment. In Brazil, it is considered an endemic disease and a relevant public health problem, mainly affecting socioeconomically vulnerable populations, which explains the prejudice associated with the idea of poverty and the low level of education of patients. Although, in recent decades, there have been advances in the fight against Hansen’s disease in Brazil, the country is still the 2nd place in the world with the highest incidence rates of the condition and holds 92% of the total cases in the Americas. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to analyze the epidemiological profile of new cases of Hansen’s disease reported in Brazil in the last decade. The present research is an ecological, descriptive, retrospective study using a quantitative approach developed from data collected in the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) between 2013 and 2022. During that period, 261,314 new cases of Hansen’s were reported throughout Brazil, and a decrease in the incidence rate of new cases was observed in the five Brazilian macro-regions, with emphasis on the sharp drop in this index between 2019 and 2020, which may be associated with underdiagnosis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease was found predominantly in men aged between 30 and 59 years, of mixed race, and complete or incomplete secondary education. Considering the impact of Hansen’s disease on affected individuals, the majority of whom are from populations in less favorable socioeconomic contexts, the importance of developing public policies and strengthening primary care is highlighted to reduce disparities in access to health care for this population.