Integrated control of neglected tropical diseases in Brazil: document review of a national campaign in light of WHO recommendations

[ABSTRACT]. Objective. To describe the results of a national campaign aimed at the integrated control of neglected tropical diseases in Brazil in light of the World Health Organization (WHO) official documentation related to the integration of strategies for the prevention, control, and elimination or eradication of neglected tropical diseases. Methods. A document review that included official WHO documents published between 2007 and 2020 and campaign results extracted from the official technical report produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Results. The integrated control of neglected tropical diseases was gradually incorporated in the WHO docu- mentation over time. Preventive chemotherapy through mass drug administration, intensified case management, and integrated vector management were extensively recommended as strategies for integrated control. The Brazilian campaign was carried out in four iterations between 2013 and 2017. Children aged 5 to 14 years enrolled in municipal public schools nationwide were targeted. In summary, a total of 1 074 and 73 522 new cases of leprosy and trachoma, respectively, were detected. Nearly 18 million doses of preventive chemo- therapy for soil-transmitted helminthiasis were administered. More than 700 cases of schistosomiasis were diagnosed and treated. Conclusions. The integrated strategies implemented in Brazil throughout the campaign generated results aligned with the WHO recommendations for the control of neglected tropical diseases, especially those regarding mass drug administration, active case detection, and intensified case management. Therefore, the continuity of the campaign with adequate evaluation tools must be encouraged as a constant public health policy in the Brazilian government agenda.

[RESUMEN]. Objetivo. Describir los resultados de una campaña nacional dirigida al control integrado de las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas en Brasil, a la luz de la documentación oficial de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) relacionada con la integración de estrategias para la prevención, el control y la eliminación o erradi- cación de las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas. Métodos. Revisión documental que comprendió documentos oficiales de la OMS publicados entre el 2007 y el 2020, así como los resultados de las campañas, extraídos del informe técnico oficial elaborado por el Ministerio de Salud de Brasil. Resultados. Con el tiempo, la OMS ha ido incorporando gradualmente en sus documentos el concepto de control integrado de las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas. Tanto los tratamientos quimioprofilácticos mediante la administración masiva de medicamentos como la intensificación del tratamiento de los casos y el control integrado de vectores han sido recomendados ampliamente como estrategias para el control integrado. En Brasil, la campaña se llevó a cabo en cuatro ediciones, realizadas entre el 2013 y el 2017. Las actividades estuvieron dirigidas a la población escolar de entre 5 y 14 años de las escuelas públicas municipales de todo el país. En resumen, se detectaron 1 074 y 73 522 casos nuevos de lepra y tracoma, respectivamente; se administraron casi 18 millones de dosis de tratamiento quimioprofiláctico contra las geo- helmintiasis; y se diagnosticaron y trataron más de 700 casos de esquistosomiasis. Conclusiones. Las estrategias integradas aplicadas en Brasil en el transcurso de la campaña permitieron obtener resultados acordes con las recomendaciones de la OMS para el control de las enfermedades tropi- cales desatendidas, especialmente en lo relativo a la administración masiva de medicamentos, la búsqueda activa de casos y la intensificación de su tratamiento. Por lo tanto, es necesario fomentar la continuidad de la campaña con herramientas de evaluación adecuadas, como una política constante en materia de salud pública dentro de la agenda del Gobierno de Brasil.

[RESUMO]. Objetivo. Descrever os resultados de uma campanha nacional voltada ao controle integrado de doenças tropicais negligenciadas no Brasil considerando os documentos oficiais da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) que tratam da integração de estratégias para a prevenção, o controle e a eliminação ou erradicação de doenças tropicais negligenciadas. Métodos. Realizou-se uma revisão documental que incluiu documentos oficiais da OMS publicados entre 2007 e 2020 e resultados de campanhas extraídos do relatório técnico oficial produzido pelo Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. Resultados. O controle integrado de doenças tropicais negligenciadas foi gradualmente incorporado à doc- umentação da OMS ao longo do tempo. A quimioterapia preventiva por meio da administração em massa de medicamentos, a intensificação da gestão de casos e o manejo integrado de vetores foram amplamente recomendados como estratégias para o controle integrado. A campanha brasileira foi realizada em quatro iterações entre 2013 e 2017. O público-alvo foram crianças de 5 a 14 anos matriculadas em escolas públicas municipais de todo o país. Em resumo, foi detectado um total de 1 074 e 73 522 novos casos de hanseníase e tracoma, respectivamente. Foram administradas cerca de 18 milhões de doses de quimioterapia preventiva para helmintíase transmitida pelo solo. Mais de 700 casos de esquistossomose foram diagnosticados e tratados. Conclusões. As estratégias integradas implementadas no Brasil ao longo da campanha geraram resultados alinhados com as recomendações da OMS para o controle de doenças tropicais negligenciadas, especialmente aquelas relativas à administração em massa de medicamentos, à detecção ativa de casos e à intensificação da gestão de casos. Portanto, a continuidade da campanha com ferramentas de avaliação adequadas deve ser incentivada como uma política de saúde pública constante na agenda do governo brasileiro.

Implementation of National Leprosy Eradication Programme during COVID-19 era: A qualitative research.

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic imposed new challenge to the implementation of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme. According to national data, after lockdown due to COVID-19, there was a 29% reduction in total leprosy cases reported in the first quarter (April-June) of 2020 in comparison to 2019. Objectives To explore the difficulties faced by different stakeholders of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme like policy makers, doctors, grass root level health workers as well as leprosy patients during COVID-19 pandemic with respect to programme implementation and access to leprosy care. Materials and Methods Qualitative research was undertaken including two focus-group-discussions held among six leprosy patients diagnosed after lockdown and nine ASHA workers as well as six in-depth interviews of doctors, leprologists, and programme managers. Ethics committee approval was sought and informed consent was obtained from all participants. All focus-group-discussions were electronically recorded and the in-depth interviews telephonically recorded, transcribed and translated from Bengali-to-English. Transcripts were separately coded by researchers and thematically analysed with the help of Visual-Anthropac software version 1.0. Results Solitary focus on COVID-19 control, capacity building and information, education and communication, leprosy case search & surveillance, co-infection among health workers, transportation issues were the themes explored from focus-group-discussions of health workers and ASHA workers. Similarly, the present study identified six themes from in-depth interviews of programme manager, leprologists, programme manager as diagnostic difficulty, operational issues, rehabilitation issues, capacity building & information education and communication activities and way forward. Limitations The research reveals the perceptions of rural population of Eastern India with high leprosy prevalence, which might not be applicable for urban areas or low prevalent districts Conclusion The solitary focus of the administration towards COVID and shifting the infrastructure and human resource only towards the management of COVID can lead to resurgence of the leprosy. Having an organised framework of operations, catering to the need of the front-line workers in rendering services, utilizing the digital platform and social media, and focusing on rehabilitation would be needed to overcome the crisis.

Governing a pandemic: biopower and the COVID-19 response in Zimbabwe.

INTRODUCTION: The extraordinary explosion of state power towards the COVID-19 response has attracted scholarly and policy attention in relation to pandemic politics. This paper relies on Foucault's theoretical differentiation of the political management of epidemics to understand how governmental framing of COVID-19 reflects biopolitical powers and how power was mobilised to control the pandemic in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of published literature, cabinet resolutions and statutory instruments related to COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. RESULTS: The COVID-19 response in Zimbabwe was shaped by four discursive frames: ignorance, denialism, securitisation and state sovereignty. A slew of COVID-19-related regulations and decrees were promulgated, including use of special presidential powers, typical of the leprosy model (sovereign power), a protracted and heavily policed lockdown was effected, typical of the plague model (disciplinary power) and throughout the pandemic, there was reference to statistical data to justify the response measures whilst vaccination emerged as a flagship strategy to control the pandemic, typical of the smallpox model (biopower). The securitisation frame had a large influence on the overall pandemic response, leading to an overly punitive application of disciplinary power and cases of infidelity to scientific evidence. On the other hand, a securitised, geopolitically oriented sovereignty model positively shaped a strong, generally well execucted, domestically financed vaccination (biopower) programme. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 response in Zimbabwe was not just an exercise in biomedical science, rather it invoked wider governmentality aspects shaped by the country's own history, (geo) politics and various mechanisms of power. The study concludes that whilst epidemic securitisation by norm-setting institutions such as WHO is critical to stimulate international political action, the transnational diffusion of such charged frames needs to be viewed in relation to how policy makers filter the policy and political consequences of securitisation through the lenses of their ideological stances and its potential to hamper rather than bolster political action.

Social Distance in COVID-19: Drawing the line between protective behavior and stigma manifestation.

Social stigma has long been defined by Ervin Goffman as an attribute that it is deeply discrediting and reduces the individual who bears it from a whole and usual person to a tarnished one, unfit to be included into the mainstream society.1 As stigma spans time and space and has been documented in other social species such as ants and chimpanzees, one might argue for its adaptive potential. Neuberg and colleagues2 have suggested that humans generate stigmas against threats to effective group functioning, with a notable case being infectious diseases. A similar explanation has been put forward by other researchers who consider stigma to have evolved from disease-avoidance mechanisms.3 Hence, it is not surprising that tuberculosis, HIV and leprosy have been surrounded by stigma and discrimination.4,5 More recently, people who had survived the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak tackled social exclusion and unemployment after returning to their neighborhoods.6 Nowadays, the global community faces an unprecedented challenge of grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. From the very outset, social distance measures were introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus, ranging from maintaining 1.5 meters physical distance to strict lockdowns. However, this may easily escalate into stigmatizing and discriminatory behaviours (desired social distance is a proxy of discrimination) against people who have suffered from COVID-19, their relatives and their caregivers, with the United Nations stating that "fear, rumours and stigma" are the key challenges surrounding COVID-19.7 Apart from the psychological distress experienced by the stigmatized individuals, due to anticipated stigma people might start concealing their illness, avoid or delay seeking medical advice or testing until they are seriously ill and be reluctant to collaborate with authorities on tracing contacts. Therefore, timely identifying stigma and addressing it is an integral part of an effective health response to the ongoing pandemic. In spite of its importance, research on COVID-19 related stigma is scarce. From the perspective of the stigmatized individuals, a study in China8 demonstrated that COVID-19 survivors faced heightened levels of overall stigma, social rejection, financial insecurity, internalized shame and social isolation, compared to healthy controls. From the perspective of the general population, a study in US9 substantiated low levels of anticipated stigma and stereotype endorsement; however, respondents who anticipated greater stigma were less likely to seek a COVID-19 test. It is therefore clear that the international literature is still on its infancy with respect to COVID-19 related stigma. In this context, in the First Department of Psychiatry, University of Athens, we conducted a survey on public attitudes to COVID-19 and to mental disorders. The study would inform the design and implementation of anti-stigma initiatives, funded by the Regional Governor of Attica. As physical distancing and social distancing are interwoven, with some researchers and practitioners using the terms interchangeably, and social distancing is also a protective public health measure against COVID-19, we enquired about attitudes and desired social distance from people who had recovered from COVID-19. Nonetheless, it merits noting that evidence from other diseases indicates that stigma may persist even after recovery.10 Moreover, rather than describing public attitudes overall, we were more interested in investigating where COVID-19 related stigma stands as compared to the most stigmatizing health condition to date, i.e., severe mental illness.11 Interestingly enough, which elements of severe mental illness render it the most stigmatized as compared to other conditions is still speculative: is it the fear of madness? the severity and the type of symptoms? the purported incurability or its chronicity? In our study, evidence from a convenience sample of 370 residents of Attica indicates that the general population holds more negative attitudes towards people who have recovered from COVID-19 than towards people with mental disorders. Nonetheless, respondents reported lower levels of desired social distance from recovered COVID-19 cases as compared to mental illness cases in social interactions of graded intimacy; however, the difference between the two groups was found to decrease as the level of intimacy decreased as well. In other words, desired social distance from COVID-19 cases is more easily discernible in transient social encounters, like talking to a stranger. It is therefore clear that social distance is still a public health protective measure rather than a stigma manifestation. For social encounters of greater intimacy, usually a sign of discriminatory behaviours, having recovered from COVID-19 is not a deterrent to interaction. Findings can be explained by the acute (non-chronic) nature of the disease, both in terms of symptoms as well as the 10-day period since symptom onset for being contagious. Nonetheless, with emerging evidence substantiating the notion of long COVID-19, defined as the persistence of symptoms for 3 weeks after infection,12 this might quickly change. Moreover, with many public health protective measures available, such as the use of mask, diagnostic testing and vaccination, people who become infected are more likely to be blamed for contracting the disease and thus deemed responsible for this, in line with the Attribution Theory.13 Specifically, overarching evidence from stigma research in many diseases/conditions indicates that when an illness or a social condition, such as economic disadvantage, is attributed to internal causes, as compared to external, lay people are more likely to hold stigmatizing attitudes.14-16 Therefore, as attitudes towards COVID-19 are worse compared to those towards people with mental illness, if tailored anti-stigma action is not undertaken, it is only a matter of time for prejudices to evolve into discriminatory behaviours, with devastating consequences on both the individuals and the course of the pandemic. Concomitantly, as severe mental illness is neither life threatening nor contagious, but COVID-19 is, it is interesting to explore how stigma is related to evolutionary mechanisms favouring adaptability and survival as well as which elements are the drivers of stigma development and establishment. Therefore, comparing and contrasting the stigma surrounding these conditions may shed light on the underpinnings of social stigma and facilitate effective interventions to reduce it and eventually eliminate it.

Zero Preconceito #2 - Como o preconceito prejudica o controle da hanseníase

O segundo episódio da série de podcasts Zero Preconceito fala sobre como o estigma pode atrapalhar os esforços para controlar a doença. Para abordar o tema, a NHR Brasil conversou com Sacha Nogueira, professora do Departamento de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) e coordenadora da Liga Acadêmica em Doenças Estigmatizantes (Lades). O episódio traz também relatos reais de pessoas acometidas na voz de Francilene Mesquita, voluntária do Movimento de Reintegração das Pessoas Atingidas pela Hanseníase (Morhan) no Piauí.

Epidemiologia da hanseníase e a descentralização das ações de controle no brasil / La epidemiología de la lepra y la descentralización de las acciones de control en brasil / Leprosy epidemiology and the decentralization of control actions in brazil

Objetivo analisar a situação epidemiológica da hanseníase no Brasil e sua associação com a descentralização das ações de controle. Método estudo ecológico misto com dados secundários do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação dos municípios brasileiros. Utilizou-se modelo de regressão binomial negativo entre 2001 e 2015. Resultados a análise das variações geográficas e temporais mostrou comportamentos heterogêneos dos três indicadores epidemiológicos de hanseníase. O aumento significativo desses foi associado à proporção de casos diagnosticados na Atenção Primária à Saúde (p<0,001; p=0,003; p=0,015); já a proporção da cobertura populacional estimada por Estratégia Saúde da Família foi associada somente à redução significativa do indicador taxa de detecção entre menores de quinze anos (p=0,017). Conclusão a interpretação simultânea dos principais indicadores epidemiológicos da hanseníase no Brasil reforçou a gravidade da situação e evidenciou que a satisfatória disponibilidade da ESF é insuficiente para o controle da doença.

Objetivo analizar la situación epidemiológica de la lepra en Brasil y su asociación con la descentralización de las acciones de control. Método estudio ecológico misto con datos secundarios del Sistema de Información de Agravamientos de Notificación de los municipios brasileños. Se utilizó un modelo de regresión binomial negativa entre 2001 y 2015. Resultados el análisis de las variaciones geográficas y temporales mostró un comportamiento heterogéneo de los tres indicadores epidemiológicos de la lepra. El aumento significativo se asoció a la proporción de casos diagnosticados en Atención Primaria de Salud (p<0,001, p=0,003, p=0,015), mientras que la proporción de cobertura poblacional estimada por la Estrategia de Salud Familiar (ESF) se asoció únicamente a la reducción significativa de la tasa de detección del indicador entre los menores de quince años (p=0,017). Conclusión la interpretación simultánea de los principales indicadores epidemiológicos de la lepra en Brasil reforzó la gravedad de la situación y evidenció que la satisfactoria disponibilidad del ESF es insuficiente para el control de la enfermedad.

Objective to analyze the epidemiological situation of leprosy in Brazil and its association with the decentralization of control actions. Method mixed ecological study with secondary data from the Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Brazilian Information System on Notifiable Diseases) of Brazilian municipalities. A negative binomial regression model was used between 2001 and 2015. Results The analysis of geographic and temporal variations showed heterogeneous behavior of the three epidemiological indicators of leprosy. The significant increase in these was associated with the proportion of cases diagnosed in Primary Health Care (p<0.001; p=0.003; p=0.015); whereas the proportion of population coverage estimated by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) was associated only with the significant reduction in the indicator detection rate among children under fifteen (p=0.017). Conclusion the simultaneous interpretation of the main epidemiological indicators of leprosy in Brazil reinforced the gravity of the situation and evidenced that the satisfactory availability of the FHS is insufficient for the control of the disease.

Prophylaxis and treatment of diseases in western São Paulo state: the Sanitation Service and trachoma in the early twentieth century. / A profilaxia e o tratamento das enfermidades do oeste paulista: o Serviço Sanitário e o tracoma no princípio do século XX.

In 1906, Emílio Ribas reorganized the Sanitation Service and centralized São Paulo state public health services in the state capital. A campaign to combat trachoma, an ophthalmic disease, was implemented as part of this project. This article analyzes this campaign, which provided care for the sick living on rural properties in a process that predated the 1917 Rural Sanitary Code. The empirical data was obtained from government reports, decrees, medical journals and newspapers. We conclude that Ribas, by creating an organization that integrated the efforts of the sanitary districts and the Trachoma Commission medical teams, sought to form a complex apparatus to combat the diseases present in both urban areas and the countryside.

Em 1906, Emílio Ribas reorganizou o Serviço Sanitário e centralizou na capital os serviços de saúde pública do estado de São Paulo. Nesse projeto, a campanha de combate ao tracoma, uma enfermidade oftálmica, foi implantada. Este artigo analisa essa campanha que atendeu os enfermos das propriedades rurais em um processo que antecedeu ao Código Sanitário Rural de 1917. O material empírico foi composto por relatórios governamentais, decretos, periódicos médicos e jornais. Concluímos que Ribas, ao criar uma estrutura que unificou os esforços dos distritos sanitários com as equipes de atendimento das Comissões do Tracoma, buscou formar um complexo aparato para combater as enfermidades presentes tanto nas áreas urbanas quanto na zona rural.

A profilaxia e o tratamento das enfermidades do oeste paulista: o Serviço Sanitário e o tracoma no princípio do século XX / Prophylaxis and treatment of diseases in western São Paulo state: the Sanitation Service and trachoma in the early twentieth century

Resumo Em 1906, Emílio Ribas reorganizou o Serviço Sanitário e centralizou na capital os serviços de saúde pública do estado de São Paulo. Nesse projeto, a campanha de combate ao tracoma, uma enfermidade oftálmica, foi implantada. Este artigo analisa essa campanha que atendeu os enfermos das propriedades rurais em um processo que antecedeu ao Código Sanitário Rural de 1917. O material empírico foi composto por relatórios governamentais, decretos, periódicos médicos e jornais. Concluímos que Ribas, ao criar uma estrutura que unificou os esforços dos distritos sanitários com as equipes de atendimento das Comissões do Tracoma, buscou formar um complexo aparato para combater as enfermidades presentes tanto nas áreas urbanas quanto na zona rural.

Abstract In 1906, Emílio Ribas reorganized the Sanitation Service and centralized São Paulo state public health services in the state capital. A campaign to combat trachoma, an ophthalmic disease, was implemented as part of this project. This article analyzes this campaign, which provided care for the sick living on rural properties in a process that predated the 1917 Rural Sanitary Code. The empirical data was obtained from government reports, decrees, medical journals and newspapers. We conclude that Ribas, by creating an organization that integrated the efforts of the sanitary districts and the Trachoma Commission medical teams, sought to form a complex apparatus to combat the diseases present in both urban areas and the countryside.

A brief introduction of Xiangya's anti-epidemic history in a century. / ç™¾å¹´æ¹˜é› æŠ—ç–«ç®€å².

Based on archival materials, the Xiangya's anti-epidemic history in a century from its establishment to 2020 is divided into 4 stages. The first stage (1906-1926), Edward Hicks Hume and YAN Fuqing, the founders of Xiangya, prevented and controlled smallpox and plague. The second stage (1929-1953), during the resumption of Xiangya, students prevented and controlled cholera, plague, dysentery, typhus, and other infectious diseases. In the third stage (1953-1999), in a peacetime, Xiangya actively fought against schistosomiasis, hydatidosis, malaria, leprosy, tuberculosis and other epidemics. The fourth stage (2000-2020), the era of Central South University. Medical staff in Xiangya fight SARS, influenza A (H1N1) flu, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, coronavirus disease 2019, etc. Over the past hundred years, Xiangya people joined together to spread benevolence and love, apply medical knowledge and skills, combat the epidemic and rescue people in difficulties, which made a great contribution to the motherland and the people.

Abordagem integrada do tracoma, outras doenças infecciosas negligenciadas e doenças oculares que podem causar cegueira em populações de difícil acesso na Amazônia

Estima-se que, em 2018, 5 milhões de pessoas viviam em áreas da Região das Américas nas quais o tracoma representa um problema de saúde pública, particularmente no Brasil, Colômbia, Guatemala e Peru. Como parte dos esforços para determinar a situação do tracoma, a Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde (OPAS) tem promovido a busca de grupos afetados pela doença em outros países da Região, principalmente em populações que, como as da Amazônia, encontram-se em situação de vulnerabilidade. Em outubro de 2019 foi realizada uma reunião na Cidade do Panamá (Panamá) com o objetivo de estabelecer um roteiro de trabalho para abordar o tracoma de forma integrada com outras doenças infecciosas negligenciadas (como geohelmintíases, filariose linfática, ectoparasitoses, hanseníase, doença de Chagas e bouba) e outras doenças oculares que causam cegueira (catarata madura e pterígio avançado) em populações que vivem em áreas de difícil acesso na Amazônia. Este relatório — disponível em espanhol, inglês e português — apresenta as recomendações dos participantes da reunião em duas áreas de trabalho: 1) mapeamento integrado das doenças e seus fatores de risco e 2) ações integradas para o controle e a eliminação das doenças.

Abordaje integrado del tracoma, otras enfermedades infecciosas desatendidas y enfermedades oculares que pueden causar ceguera en poblaciones de difícil acceso en la Amazonia. Informe de reunión (Ciudad de Panamá, 21 y 22 de octubre del 2019)

Se estima que, en el 2018, 5 millones de personas vivían en zonas de la Región de las Américas en las que el tracoma representa un problema de salud pública, en particular en Brasil, Colombia, Guatemala y Perú. Como parte de las actividades para determinar la situación del tracoma, la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) ha impulsado la búsqueda de grupos afectados por la enfermedad en otros países de la Región, principalmente en poblaciones que, como las de la Amazonia, se encuentran en situación de vulnerabilidad. En octubre del 2019 se celebró en Ciudad de Panamá (Panamá) una reunión dirigida a establecer una hoja de ruta que abordase el tracoma de manera integrada con otras enfermedades infecciosas desatendidas (como la geohelmintiasis, la filariasis linfática, las ectoparasitosis, la lepra, la enfermedad de Chagas y el pian) y otras enfermedades oculares que causan ceguera (catarata madura y pterigión avanzado) para poblaciones en zonas de difícil acceso en la Amazonia.Este informe —disponible en español, inglés y portugués— presenta las recomendaciones de los participantes en la reunión en dos esferas de trabajo: 1) el mapeo integrado de las enfermedades y los factores de riesgo asociados y 2) las acciones integradas para el control y la eliminación de las enfermedades.

Estratificación epidemiológica de enfermedades seleccionadas. Granma. 2018 / Epidemiological stratification of selected diseases. Granma. 2018

La estratificación es una estrategia útil para obtener un diagnóstico objetivo de acuerdo con el cual planificar las actividades de prevención y control de las distintas enfermedades. El objetivo fundamental del trabajo fue identificar el comportamiento territorial del riesgo absoluto de enfermedades transmisibles seleccionadas en la provincia. Se realizó la estratificación epidemiológica de 5 enfermedades seleccionadas (EDA, IRA, Tuberculosis, Meningoencefalitis viral y Lepra), utilizando para ello el método de riesgo absoluto, que consistió en la formación de diferentes estratos de riesgo: bajo, mediano y alto. Durante el año 2018 se clasificó como municipio de alto riesgo Bayamo; la distribución por municipios según número de entidades en alto riesgo pudimos constatar lo siguiente: Bayamo (5); Manzanillo (3); Cauto Cristo, Yara, Campechuela, Media Luna, Niquero, Buey Arriba y Guisa (2 cada uno); Jiguaní, Pilón y Bartolomé Masó (1 cada uno); Río Cauto (no se encuentra en alto riesgo para ninguna entidad); según las enfermedades seleccionadas, la distribución de los municipios que se encontraban en alto riesgo fue la siguiente: IRA, Tuberculosis, Meningoencefalitis viral y Lepra (4 municipios en cada una), EDA (3 municipios). La conformación de los estratos de riesgo según la metodología escogida garantiza a los jefes de programa el diseño de estrategias de intervención para cada una de las enfermedades analizadas, según el comportamiento de los factores asociados a las mismas y completar el proceso de diagnóstico-intervención-evaluación(AU)

Stratification is a useful strategy to obtain an objective diagnosis according to which to plan prevention and control activities for different diseases. The main objective of the work was to identify the territorial behavior of the absolute risk of selected communicable diseases in the province. Epidemiological stratification of 5 selected diseases (EDA, ARI, Tuberculosis, Viral Meningoencephalitis and Leprosy) was carried out, using the absolute risk method, which consisted of the formation of different risk strata: low, medium and high. During 2018 Bayamo was classified as a high risk municipality; the distribution by municipalities according to the number of high risk entities we could verify the following: Bayamo (5); Manzanillo (3); Cauto Cristo, Yara,Campechuela, Media Luna, Niquero, Buey Arriba and Guisa (2 each); Jiguaní, Pilón and Bartolomé Masó (1 each); Río Cauto (it is not at high risk for any entity); According to the selected diseases, the distribution of the municipalities that were at high risk was as follows: ARF, Tuberculosis, Viral Meningoencephalitis and Leprosy (4 municipalities in each), EDA (3 municipalities). The conformation of the risk strata according to the chosen methodology guarantees the program managers the design of intervention strategies for each one of the analyzed diseases, according to the behavior of the factors associated with them and completing the diagnostic-intervention process-evaluation(EU)

Impact of common skin diseases on children in rural Côte d'Ivoire with leprosy and Buruli ulcer co-endemicity: A mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs) occur against a background of a very high prevalence of common skin diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we examined the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) and the impact of common skin diseases in children living in a leprosy and Buruli ulcer (BU) co-endemic district in a west African country of Côte d'Ivoire, in order to help inform disease control efforts for skin NTDs. METHODS AND PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Fourteen focus group discussions (FGDs) with schoolchildren, 5 FGDs with parents of a child affected with skin disease(s), and 27 in-depth semi-structured interviews with key personnel were conducted. The Children's Dermatology Quality of Life Index (CDLQI) questionnaire was applied to 184 schoolchildren with skin diseases. We found that there was ignorance or neglect towards skin diseases in general, due to their high prevalence and also the perceived minimal impact on children's daily lives. While the median score for the CDLQI questionnaire was 5 (IQR 2-9) out of 30, a range of scores was observed. Symptoms such as pruritus and experiencing bullying by classmates contributed to reduction in their quality of life. Poor hygiene was considered as a major cause of skin diseases. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite their high impact on affected populations, we observed a high level of ignorance and neglect toward common skin diseases. There is a critical need to increase awareness of skin diseases, or skin health promotion, which supports changing of the health-seeking behaviour for skin conditions. This will aid in early detection and treatment of the skin NTDs, in addition to providing benefits for those affected by other skin diseases. Educational opportunities should be utilized to their utmost. One would be associated with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) strategies, but careful messages need to be developed and delivered.

Orientações para pessoas atingidas pela hanseníase durante a pandemia Covid-19 / Guidelines for persons affected by Hansen's disease (leprosy) during the Covid-19 pandemic / Pautas para las personas afectadas con la lepra durante la pandemia de Covid-19

Documento desenvolvido pela Sociedade Brasileira de Hansenologia com orientações às pessoas atingidas pela hanseníase sobre a prevenção e tratamento do Covid-19. O trabalho foi feito por um grupo de hansenologistas da Sociedade Brasileira de Hansenologia (SBH) em versões em português, espanhol e inglês e mostra como os médicos acreditam que a doença de Hansen e a COVID-19 podem interagir

Document developed by the Brazilian Society of Hansenology with guidance to people affected by leprosy on the prevention and treatment of Covid-19. The work was done by a group of Hansenologists from the Brazilian Society of Hansenology (SBH) in Portuguese, Spanish and English versions and shows how doctors believe that Hansen's disease and COVID-19 can interact

Documento desarrollado por la Sociedad Brasileña de Hansenología con orientación a las personas afectadas por la lepra sobre la prevención y el tratamiento de Covid-19. El trabajo fue realizado por un grupo de hansenólogos de la Sociedad Brasileña de Hansenología (SBH) en versiones en portugués, español e inglés y muestra cómo los médicos creen que la enfermedad de Hansen y COVID-19 pueden interactuar

Advice on leprosy and COVID-19 / Adivice on leprosy and COVID-19 / Conseils sur la lèpre et le COVID-19

The ILEP Technical Commission and the Global Leprosy Programme have issued the following advice on leprosy and COVID-19(AU)

La Commission Technique de l'ILEP et le Programme mondial de lutte contre la lèpre ont publié les conseils suivants sur la lèpre et COVID-19(AU)

Falhas operacionais no controle da hanseníase em redes de convívio domiciliar com sobreposição de casos em áreas endêmicas no Brasil / Fallas operacionales en el control de la lepra en redes de convivencia domiciliar con sobreposición de casos en zonas endémicas de Brasil / Operational failures of leprosy control in household social networks with overlapping cases in endemic areas in Brazil

Objetivo: Analisar a vulnerabilidade institucional/programática de serviços de saúde no desenvolvimento das ações de atenção a pessoas acometidas pela hanseníase e de vigilância de contatos. Métodos: Estudo transversal, conduzido em 2017, sobre dados primários de amostra de casos de hanseníase notificados no período 2001-2014, com sobreposição de casos em redes de convívio domiciliar (RCD), em municípios dos estados da Bahia, Piauí e Rondônia, Brasil. Resultados: Dos 233 casos de hanseníase analisados, 154 (66,1%) pertenciam a RCD com 3 ou mais casos de hanseníase. Em 53,2% dos casos, houve acometimento de duas ou mais gerações, um desfecho significativamente associado a não realização do exame dermato-neurológico (razão de prevalências [RP] 1,32; intervalo de confiança [IC95%1,10;1,59]; p-valor=0,004). Conclusão: Falhas operacionais na vigilância de contatos de hanseníase em áreas de alta endemicidade reforçam o caráter de vulnerabilidade institucional/programática em contextos de RCD com mais de um caso de hanseníase, nos três estados analisados.

Objetivo: Analizar la vulnerabilidad institucional/programática de los servicios de salud para el desarrollo de acciones de atención a personas afectadas por lepra y de vigilancia de sus contactos. Métodos: Estudio transversal realizado en 2017 basado en datos primarios de una muestra de casos de lepra notificados entre 2001-2014 con casos superpuestos en redes de convivencia domiciliar (RCD) en Municipios de los Estados de Bahía, Piauí y Rondônia, Brasil. Resultados: Del total de 233 casos de lepra analizados, 154 (66,1%) pertenecían a RCD con 3 o más casos de lepra. En el 53.2% de los casos hubo 2 o más generaciones afectadas, resultado significativamente asociado con la no realización del dermato-neurológico (razón de prevalencias [RP] 1,32; intervalo de confianza [IC95%1,10;1,59]; valor-p=0.004). Conclusión: Las fallas operativas en la vigilancia de los contactos de lepra en áreas de alta endemicidad refuerzan el carácter de vulnerabilidad institucional/programática en los contextos de redes de convivencia domiciliar (RCD) con más de un caso de lepra en los tres estados analizados.

Objective: To analyze institutional/programmatic vulnerability of health services in the development of health care actions for people affected by leprosy and contact surveillance. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 based on primary data from a sample of leprosy cases notified between 2001-2014 with overlapping cases in household social networks (HSN) in municipalities in the states of Bahia, Piauí and Rondônia, Brazil. Results: A total of 233 leprosy cases were analyzed, 154 (66.1%) belonged to HSN with 3 or more leprosy cases. In 53.2% of cases, 2 or more generations were affected, this being an outcome associated with absence of dermato-neurological examination (prevalence ratio 1.32; confidence interval [95%CI 1.10;1.59]; p-value=0.004). Conclusion: Operational failures in the surveillance of leprosy contacts in areas of high endemicity reinforce the character of institutional/programmatic vulnerability in HSN contexts with more than one case of leprosy in the three states analyzed.

The National Tuberculosis Control Programme of Liberia Laboratory Programme Performance.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Liberia. Little is known about the TB laboratory performance of Liberia and the challenges after the 14 years of civil war which ended in 2003. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the TB laboratory performance of Liberia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2014 to 2015. The study was conducted using quantitative data of TB case findings, sputum microscopy proficiency testing, and on-site assessment of sputum microscopy laboratories in Liberia. 80 laboratories participated in the proficiency testing. Besides, four years' (2012-2015) TB case finding data obtained from the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme (NLTCP) were used to complement the study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: From the 80 TB sputum microscopy testing laboratories participating in proficiency testing, only 20 (25%) scored acceptable performance. 46 (58%) TB microscopy laboratories reported quantification errors for the proficiency panel slide 6 which was 3+. The national TB smear-positive cases notified were 4342 in 2012 but decreased to 3820 and 2448 in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The TB smear case detection rate showed an increase from 68% in 2010 to 78% in 2011 and a decrease to 60%, 57%, and 42% in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. Conclusion: Between 2010 and 2013, the NLTCP succeeded in increasing the number of TB sputum microscopy laboratories. At most of the TB microscopy sites, the TB laboratory quality system was not implemented. The NLTCP of Liberia should develop strategies to overcome its challenges in TB laboratory testing.

Norma técnica de salud para la prevención, atención integral y control de la Lepra en el Perú / Technical health standard for the prevention, integral attention and control of Leprosy in Peru

El documento describe las disposiciones técnicas para la atención integral de las personas afectadas por lepra, que permitan planificar y programar intervenciones sanitarias a fin de reducir la carga de enfermedad por lepra en las regiones endémicas del país.

Inventory of the epidemiological situation of leprosy in Haiti (2013-2017) for the Five-Year Plan: A first stage toward the implementation of the international strategy to combat leprosy, 2016-2020.

Leprosy is endemic in Haiti and remains a disease misunderstood by the population. In 2018, the national program to fight tuberculosis and leprosy (PNLTL) produced its first strategic plan against leprosy to implement the international strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO). The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological situation of leprosy in Haiti, to assess its prevalence and morbidity, and to guide the strategies of the national plan. A retrospective study of all cases of leprosy diagnosed in the three centers providing care for this disease in Haiti reviewed the new cases at these centers from January 2013 through December 2017. In all, 232 new patients were recorded, or 49 new cases a year. Multibacillary leprosy was predominant: 86%, compared with the international mean of 60 %. Children accounted for 14 % of the new cases (7.5 % internationally), a finding that is evidence of active community transmission. Of the new cases in 2017, 8 %, including one child, had grade 2 impairments. Nearly all the leprosy cases - 94 % (218/232) - came from the two districts with treatment centers (West and Artibonite). Efforts must continue to implement the international strategy to fight leprosy to ensure a reduction by 2020 in the rate of grade 2 impairments among new cases and the number of new cases among children.