RESUMO O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar a estrutura do programa municipal de controle da hanseníase, em Canaã dos Carajás (Pará), no contexto da Atenção Primária à Saúde. Tratase de um estudo de avaliação de programas de saúde, com foco na hanseníase, tendo como público-alvo os gestores do programa de hanseníase e os gerentes das unidades de saúde da atenção primária. Foram utilizados dois questionários diferentes, elaborados especificamente para esse fim. Concluiu-se que o município em questão possui uma estrutura classificada entre insatisfatória e regular, demonstrando várias fragilidades no programa avaliado, para o atendimento em hanseníase.

BACKGROUND: Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection caused by fungi from the Dematiaceae family. According to several studies, Fonsecaea pedrosoi is the most common of these fungi. The infection is more common in tropical countries, with the Brazilian state of Pará having one of the largest infected populations worldwide. The disease is difficult to treat and recurrences are common. OBJECTIVES: To describe the epidemiological and mycological aspects of cases of chromoblastomycosis and its clinical forms in the state of Pará, Brazil. METHODS: Mycological exams (direct mycological examinations, culture and microculture) were performed and a clinical/epidemiological evaluation was made of 65 patients receiving care at the Dermatology Department of the Federal University of Pará between 2000 and 2007. The clinical classification proposed by Carrión in 1950 was used in this study. RESULTS: The majority of the patients were male (93.8%), agricultural workers (89.2%) of 45 to 55 years of age, and the majority of lesions (55.4%) were of the verrucous type, located principally on the lower limbs (81.5%). In the majority of the cases investigated (61.5%), the infection had been present for a long time, with a mean duration of 11 years. Direct mycological examination was performed in 86.2% of the patients (n=56). Of these, 96.4% (n=54) tested positive. Culture and microculture were performed in vitro in 47 cases of those that tested positive at direct microscopy, results showing Fonsecaea pedrosoi to be the only agent present in this sample. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the extent to which chromoblastomycosis still affects the quality of life of the local population, principally individuals working in agriculture. This is a chronic disease for which there is no effective treatment. The importance of continuing to investigate this disease should be emphasized, as further studies may lead to new clinical or epidemiological findings.

RESUMOA redução do risco de adoecimento entre os contatos domiciliares de casos é um dos alvos das ações de vigilância e controle da hanseníase. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar as ações de vigilância de contatos de hanseníase no Município de Igarapé-Açu, Estado do Pará, Brasil, no período de 2004 a 2008. Foi realizado um estudo descritivo, retrospectivo, quantitativo e populacional, com informações geradas pelo Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan) e por protocolo de pesquisa próprio, tendo sido identificados 128 casos índices no Sinan municipal, dos quais 53 foram resgatados e entrevistados, ocasião em que 133 contatos foram identificados. Entre os casos índices predominaram o sexo feminino (68%), os maiores de 15 anos de idade (79%) e a forma operacional multibacilar (66%). Entre os contatos, a maioria era do sexo masculino (52,63%), tinha ensino fundamental completo (42,10%), solteiros (42,85%), desempregados (55,63%), com renda familiar inferior a um salário mínimo (60,15%) e com uma cicatriz da vacina BCG-ID (67,67%). A taxa de contatos não avaliados foi de 84 (63,16%), e destes, de acordo com a classificação operacional do caso índice, 56 (66,70%) foram contatos de casos multibacilar; 13 (37,14%) dos casos índices multibacilares foram contatos intradomiciliares de casos de hanseníase anteriores ao período estudado. O município estudado apresentou avaliação precária dos contatos intradomiciliares de acordo com os parâmetros do Ministério da Saúde, o que reforça a necessidade da intensificação das ações de vigilância e controle da hanseníase em municípios endêmicos/hiperendêmicos.

BackgroundLeprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, can lead to scarring and deformities. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a lymphotropic virus with high rates of replication, leads to cell death in various stages of infection. These diseases have major social and quality of life costs, and although the relevance of their comorbidity is recognized, several aspects are still not fully understood.Methodology/Principal FindingsTwo cohorts of patients with leprosy in an endemic region of the Amazon were observed. We compared 40 patients with leprosy and HIV (Group 1) and 107 leprosy patients with no comorbidity (Group 2) for a minimum of 2 years. Group 1 predominantly experienced the paucibacillary classification, accounting for 70% of cases, whereas Group 2 primarily experienced the multibacillary classification (80.4% of cases). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of leprosy reactions among the two groups (37.5% for Group 1 vs. 56.1% for Group 2), and the most frequent reaction was Type 1. The appearance of Group 1 patients’ reversal reaction skin lesions was consistent with each clinical form: typically erythematous and infiltrated, with similar progression as those patients without HIV, which responded to prednisone. Patients in both groups primarily experienced a single episode (73.3% in Group 1 and 75% in Group 2), and Group 1 had shorter reaction periods (≤3 months; 93.3%), moderate severity (80%), with 93.3% of the patients in the state of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and 46.7% presenting the reaction at the time of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study used a large sample and makes a significant contribution to the clinical outcomes of patients in the reactive state with comorbid HIV and leprosy. The data indicate that these diseases, although concurrent, have independent courses.

Background Leprosy has been treated with multidrug therapy, which has been distributed for free across the globe and regarded as highly efficient. However, the impossibility of growing Mycobacterium leprae in axenic media has historically impaired assessments of M. leprae resistance, a parameter only recently detectable through molecular methods. Methods A systematic, population-based search for M. leprae resistance in suspected leprosy relapse cases and contacts was performed in Prata Village, an isolated, hyperendemic, former leprosy colony located in the Brazilian Amazon. Results led to an extended active search involving the entire Prata population. Confirmed leprosy cases were investigated for bacterial resistance using a combination of in vivo testing and direct sequencing of resistance genes folP1, rpoB, and gyrA. A molecular epidemiology analysis was performed using data from 17 variable number tandem repeats (VNTR). Results Mycobacterium leprae was obtained from biopsies of 37 leprosy cases (18 relapses and 19 new cases): 16 (43.24%) displayed drug-resistance variants. Multidrug resistance to rifampicin and dapsone was observed in 8 relapses and 4 new cases. Single resistance to rifampicin was detected in 1 new case. Resistance to dapsone was present in 2 relapses and 1 new case. Combined molecular resistance and VNTR data revealed evidence of intra-familial primary transmission of resistant M. leprae. Conclusions A comprehensive, population-based systematic approach to investigate M. leprae resistance in a unique population revealed an alarming scenario of the emergence and transmission of resistant strains. These findings may be used for the development of new strategies for surveillance of drug resistance in other populations.

A strong major gene effect in the isolated, hyperendemic Prata Colony indicates enrichment of genetic risk factors, suggesting a population particularly suitable for leprosy gene identification studies.

Objetivo: avaliar a presença e a extensão dos atributos essenciais e derivados da atenção primária em saúde no programa de controle da hanseníase sob a ótica do enfermeiro. Método: estudo avaliativo de programas de saúde, realizado entre agosto de 2015 e fevereiro de 2016, com 11 enfermeiros de unidades de saúde da atenção primária. Na coleta de dados foi utilizado um questionário para medir a presença e a extensão dos atributos da atenção primária em saúde no controle da doença. Foi realizada análise estatística e descritiva. Resultados: o município apresentou, pela média dos escores gerais e dos atributos essenciais e derivados, alta orientação para as ações de controle da hanseníase, com exceção do atributo acesso, que recebeu média abaixo do ponto de corte. Conclusão: mesmo com as fragilidades identificadas, o município apresenta alta orientação para o desenvolvimento das ações de controle da hanseníase na atenção primária em saúde.

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