Socioeconômico, ambiental e fatores de risco comportamentais para a lepra no nordeste do Brasil : resultados de um estudo caso-controle

Abstract

Leprosy is an old disease that continues to be an important public health problem in several developing countries. In over a hundred countries the disease is endemic, and in twelve the prevalence is above the benchmark set by the World Health Organization of 1 new case per 10 000 inhabitants per year.1 Transmission of leprosy is accepted to be primarily personto- person: the risk of developing leprosy is 5–10 times higher if one member of the family has developed the disease previously2,3 and higher if the primary case has lepromatous leprosy and lower if tuberculoid leprosy.