Epdemiology of Leprosy in Brazil during the 21st Century
Patrick Cristian Lima Orihuela1, Pedro Henrique Gonzales1, Valéria Salas1, Thabata Roberto Alonso1, Luciana Cristina Lima Orihuela2, Doris de Micena Costa1, Mario Pietro Scupino Rocco1, Leonardo Moraes Armesto1
1University of São Caetano do Sul, 2University of Cidade de São Paulo
Objective:

To evaluate the epidemiology of leprosy in Brazil during the 21st century, based on national databases.

Background:

Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, characterized by neuropathy that compromises nerve function and can lead to disability. Brazil has the highest number of reported cases, followed by India and Indonesia. In view of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) has set a goal of eradicating the disease by 2030. In Brazil, ongoing efforts to control infectious diseases have contributed to a gradual reduction in incidence over the years.

Design/Methods:
A descriptive, cross-sectional epidemiological analysis was carried out by consulting the DATASUS database (TABNET). Leprosy indicators were collected between 2001 and 2024 for the following variables: region/federal unit of notification, sex, schooling, race, age group, operational class, skin lesions, disability at discharge, current therapeutic regimen, clinical form and reactional episode. In addition, data on BCG vaccination was collected in order to seek correlation between the information entities.
Results:

961,477 people were diagnosed with Hansen's disease between 2001-2024, the majority of whom were male (56%), aged between 20-59 years (79.7%), with incomplete primary schooling (80.2%), and living in the Northwest region (40.1%). With regard to the type of disease, 65.6% were multibacillary and 43.4% were non-reactive. As for treatment, 57.7% were on a 12-month regimen, while 32.7% were on a 6-month regimen. The incidence remained steadily low at around 45% between 2003-2016 and 8% between 2016-2023.

Conclusions:

In Brazil, almost 1 million people were infected with leprosy in the 21st century. The majority of these patients were adults with a low level of schooling, in a region with an HDI (human development index) of 659, culminating in low access to health infrastructures and greater refinement in studies that contribute to the interpretation of the subject.

10.1212/WNL.0000000000212711
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.