Hanseniasis: diagnostic instrument development and institutional contribution for epidemiologic surveillance

Abstract

Hanseniasis is a prevalent disease in Pará State, Brazil. The old settlements Colônia do Prata (Igarapé-Açu) and Colônia Marituba (metropolitan area of Belém), both in Pará, were home to patients with hanseniasis and portray a historical reality of patient segregation and separation from their families because of their contagious disease. Multidrug treatment (polychemotherapy) was established in Brazil during the 1980s and led to a significant countrywide decrease in the prevalence of hanseniasis. Although there were no significant decreases in the number of new cases reported in endemic countries, the epidemiologic framework dramatically changed during the past 20 years. Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC) is a research agency of the Health Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health, which conducted epidemiologic studies and performed public health surveillance on hanseniasis during the 1990s. In 1998, a simple laboratory method called ML Dipstick was used for identifying IgM antibodies against the phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I), a Mycobacterium leprae-specific antigen; and those studies were conducted in five endemic municipalities located in Pará State. This report aimed to describe IEC's Hanseniasis Program, as well as provide future perspectives on hanseniasis in Pará State.