Clinical, bacteriological and immunological follow-up of household contacts of leprosy patients from a post-elimination area - Antioquia, Colombia

Abstract

Follow-up of the household contacts (HHC) of leprosy patients is

Unexpectedly high leprosy seroprevalence detected using a random surveillance strategy in midwestern Brazil: A comparison of ELISA and a rapid diagnostic test

“…leprae [5, 29]. Individuals in close contact with untreated MB patients have a 10% lifetime risk of eventually succumbing to leprosy [2, 9, 29–31], particularly when they are consanguineous relatives [29]. Although a positive titre to anti-PGL-I is an infection biomarker, it is not an absolute indicator of disease.…”

“…This approach represents a low-cost strategy; however, it is subjective and dependent upon the experience of the examiner, a difficult task for untrained physicians [2]. …”

Early detection of leprosy by examination of household contacts, determination of serum anti-PGL-1 antibodies and consanguinity

“…In addition, the results suggest an important role for the measurement of serum anti-PGL-1 antibodies as a method for detecting subclinical infection, especially in leprosy contacts with low or no resistance to M. leprae (Foss et al 1993). As seropositivity for IgM anti-PGL-1 might be a risk factor for developing leprosy, the seropositive individuals should be monitored via clinical examination, determination of the immune response and bacteriologic state for leprosy detection (Douglas et al 2004, Cardona-Castro et al 2009), as was done with the HHC selected in the present study. There are some risk factors for the development of leprosy, in addition to being a contact, such as clinical form of leprosy of the index case, the physical distance and the consanguinity (Richardus et al 2005, Moet et al 2006.…”

Leprosy In Colombian Children And Adolescents

“…Indeterminate leprosy will usually progress to 1 of the polar types of leprosy. 3 In 1982, the World Health Organization proposed a classification according to the BI in skin slit samples. PB is defined as having a BI = 0 and MB has a BI > 0.…”

“…1 Leprosy in Colombia is not considered a public health problem because the prevalence is only <1/10,000, 2 but the figures are not an accurate reflection of the problem with respect to population distribution. 3 In Colombia, 300-500 new cases of leprosy are reported per year. Seven percentage of the new leprosy cases occurred in children <15 years of aged, and 59% of these cases are in children 10-14 years of age.…”