Conhecendo a hanseníase e os métodos de diagnósticos laboratoriais

Abstract

Leprosy remains an important public health problem in Brazil, being an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is the Mycobacterium leprae (Hansen Bacillus), an intracellular parasite that has a high capacity to infect large numbers of individuals of all ages and both Sexes, its average incubation period is 3 years. It is considered that the man is the only natural reservoir of the bacillus. It is a chronic granulomatous infection that mainly affects peripheral nerves and the skin, in contrast, neurological damage is blamed for the sequelae that may arise. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested an operational classification based on the number of cutaneous lesions for treatment consisting of a cocktail of drugs called Polychemotherapeutic, with Paucibacillary (PB), with up to 5 spots on the skin, and Multibacillary (MB), above 5 spots on the skin. Its transmission occurs through direct contact with bacilliferous patients, by inhalation of bacilli by the upper airways from person to person through the cohabitation of susceptible individuals with untreated patients. The diagnosis of Mycobacterium leprae is essentially clinical, however its complementary tests serve as a confirmatory diagnosis for the correct treatment of the individuals with the disease. Individual and socioeconomic conditions such as nutritional status, hygiene situation and, especially, population dwellings seem to influence transmission, which makes it difficult to control the endemic disease.