DIAGNOSIS OF LEPROSY IN PRIMARY CARE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/revgeov17n4-010Keywords:
Leprosy, Primary Health Care, Diagnosis, Mycobacterium leprae, Public Health, Rapid TestsAbstract
Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, manifests with skin and peripheral nerve involvement, representing a serious public health challenge, especially in Brazil, one of the countries with the highest global endemicity. The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) has decentralized care to Primary Health Care (PHC). The objective of this narrative literature review was to analyze the diagnosis of leprosy in PHC, identifying professional difficulties and strategies to strengthen care. The study was based on articles published between 2020 and 2025 in the PubMed database. The results demonstrate that diagnosis in PHC is predominantly clinical, based on the identification of areas of hypoesthesia, but is compromised by structural and technical limitations, including the technical insecurity of professionals and the deficiency in the supply of materials for sensitivity tests. The incorporation of rapid biomarker-based tests, such as the anti-PGL-I antibody, emerges as an important complementary tool to expedite operational classification, but does not replace rigorous clinical evaluation. It is concluded that tackling leprosy and preventing disabilities depend directly on strengthening primary health care through continuing education of professionals, expansion of decentralized laboratory support, and the strategic use of surveillance actions and active contact tracing.
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References
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