Childhood leprosy in Brazil: epidemiological analysis from 2019 to 2023 and determining factors in prevalence

Abstract

Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is a significant challenge in Brazil, especially with regard to diagnosis and treatment in children. This article aims to analyze the main determinants of leprosy prevalence in Brazil. The study was carried out by searching the Medline/PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) and Cochrane Library databases, as well as extracting data on childhood leprosy from the Department of Information Technology of the Unified Health System (DATASUS), using the available epidemiological indicators (incidence, prevalence, number of diagnosed cases). The research question and strategy used were based on the PICO model. We included clinical trials, meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials, full articles, books and documents published in English, Spanish and Portuguese in the last 5 years. A total of 568 articles were initially found. After analysis and elimination of duplicates, 289 references were analyzed by title and abstract, of which 67 were included for full reading. After this stage, 55 references were excluded. In the end, 12 studies were considered eligible. The available evidence shows that although leprosy is curable, it remains a major challenge in Brazil, especially in the most vulnerable areas with high poverty rates. Therefore, improving prevention, early diagnosis and treatment strategies is fundamental to significantly reducing the burden of the disease.