Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Leprosy in Colombia

  • Tropical Diseases in Colombia (A Restrepo, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Tropical Medicine Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Leprosy is a neglected chronic infectious disease produced by Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy causes irreversible disabilities, poverty, social exclusion, stigma, and psychologic sequels. This review summarizes important facts occurred in leprosy epidemiology and clinical outcomes of patients from Colombia during the last 20 years.

Recent Findings

According to World Health Organization (WHO), leprosy in Colombia is not considered as a public health problem since 1997, when the prevalence achieves the goal of less than 1 case per 10,000 of inhabitants. Nevertheless, 350–500 new cases are reported every year, around 80% are classified multibacillary (MB), 30% with disability grade I or II. Additionally, 7% of new patients are children and adolescents. Clinical spectrum of leprosy is wide and initial stages are difficult to diagnose. Loss of clinical expertise, weakness of the Colombian leprosy control programs, endemic regions located far away from the urban areas, and lack of accessibility of medical resources, are some factors that influence late diagnosis and disabilities in Colombian patients.

Summary

Leprosy in Colombia affects the poorest population. During 2014–2015, the prevalence of 13 regions was above the goal of 1 per 10,000, these are the following: Atlántico, Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bolivar, Cartagena, Cesar, Huila, Magdalena, Santa Marta, Norte de Santander, Santander, Tolima, and Valle. The definition of leprosy elimination as a public health problem in Colombia should be reconsidered, as this country is classified as post elimination stage.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Foss NT, Motta ACF. Leprosy, a neglected disease that causes a wide variety of clinical conditions in tropical countries. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2012;107(Suppl 1):28–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lastoria JC, Morgado de Abreu MAM. Leprosy: review of the epidemiological, clinical and etiopathogenic aspects. Part 1. An Bras Dermatol. 2014;89(2):205–18. https://doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20142450.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. CS Smith, A Aerts, E Kita, M Virmond. Time to define leprosy elimination as zero leprosy transmission?. Lancet, 2016; 16: 398–399. www.thelancet.com/infection.

  4. WHO. Global leprosy update, 2015: time for action, accountability and inclusion. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/249601/1/WER9135.pdf?ua=1. Accessed date Jan 20, 2018.

  5. Fadul Pérez S, Vargas Gómez D, Martínez Duran M. Situación epidemiológica de lepra, Colombia, 2012 a 2014. INFORME QUINCENAL EPIDEMIOLÓGICO NACIONAL 22.

  6. Cardona-Castro N, Cortés E, Beltrán C, Romero M, Badel-Mogollón JE, Bedoya G. Human Genetic Ancestral Composition Correlates with the Origin of Mycobacterium leprae Strains in a Leprosy Endemic Population. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9(9):e0004045. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004045. eCollection 2015

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Montoya y Florez JB. Lepra en Colombia. Imprenta Editorial 1910: 1–445.

  8. Obregón Torres, D. Batallas contra la lepra: estado, medicina y ciencia en Colombia., 2002 Ed: Fondo Editorial Universitario EAFIT; Medellín: Banco de la Republica. Publicación digital en la página web de la Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango del Banco de la Republica. http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/sociologia/bat/indice.ht

  9. Martínez AF, Guatibonza SA. Cómo Colombia logró ser la primera potencia leprosa del mundo: 1869–1916. Colombia Médica. 2005;36(4):12–20.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cardona-Castro N. Leprosy in Colombia: post elimination stage? Lepr Rev. 2013;84(3):238–47.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Instituto Nacional de Salud. Informe de evento lepra 2013. Consultando en: http://www.ins.gov.co/lineas-deaccion/Subdireccion Vigilancia/Informe%20de%20Evento%20Epidemiolgico/LEPRA%20Periodo%20XII%20. 2014.pdf.

  12. Martínez Hernández J. Nociones de Salud Pública. Ed. Díaz de Santos, 2013:1–100.

  13. Global Leprosy Situation 2012, Boletín epidemiológico semanal No 34, 2012, 87, 317–328. http://www.who.int/wer/2012/wer8734.pdf.

  14. Kalk A, Fleisher K. The decentralization of the health system in Colombia and Brazil and its impact on leprosy control. Lepr Rev. 2004;75:67–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Leprosy Elimination Monitoring (LEM). http://www.who.int/lep/monitor/mdt_supply/en/

  16. Plan de Acción para Acelerar el Logro de la Eliminación de la Lepra en América Latina y el Caribe. Líneas de acción para alcanzar las metas y sostener los logros regionales, 2012–2015.

  17. Rodríguez G, Pinto R. Recidivas post tratamiento de la lepra multibacilar. Rev Bioméd. 2004;24:133–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. World Health Organization Study Group. Chemotherapy of leprosy for control programmes. WHO Technical Report Series Geneva. 1982;675:1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Boletín Epidemiológico. La Lepra en la Américas 1983; 4: 6 http://www.paho.org/spanish/dd/ais/BE_v4n6.pdf

  20. World Health Organization. Drug resistance in leprosy: reports from selected endemic countries. Weekly epidemiological record. 2009; 26: 264±267. http://www.who.int/wer/2009/wer8433.pdf?ua=1 Accesed Feb, 2018. PMID: 19557943.

  21. Hernandez E, Cardona-Castro N, Rodríguez G, Villegas S, Beltran C, Kimura M, et al. Estudio de resistencia a la rifampicina y la dapsona en tres pacientes con recurrencia de lepra. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2008;23:73–7. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1020-49892008000200001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Beltran-Alzate C, Lopez Diaz F, Romero-Montoya M, Sakamuri R, Li W, Kimura M, et al. Leprosy drug resistance surveillance in Colombia: the experience of a sentinel country. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016;10(10):e0005041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005041.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Cardona-Castro N, Beltrán-Alzate JC, Romero-Montoya M. Clinical, bacteriological and immunological follow up of household contacts of leprosy patients from a post-elimination area – Antioquia, Colombia. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2009;104:935–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Cardona-Castro N, Beltrán-Alzate JC, Manrique-Hernández R. Survey to identify Mycobacterium leprae-infected household contacts of patients from prevalent regions of leprosy in Colombia. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2008;103:332–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Cardona-Castro NM, Restrepo-Jaramillo S, Gil de la Ossa M, Brennan PJ. Infection by Mycobacterium leprae of household contacts of lepromatous leprosy patients from a post-elimination leprosy region of Colombia. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2005;100:703–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Romero-Montoya I, Beltrán-Alzate JC, Ortiz-Marín DC, Diaz-Diaz A, Cardona-Castro N. Leprosy in Colombian children and adolescents. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2014;33(3):21–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Colombiano de Medicina Tropical ICMT, Facultad de Medicine, Escuela de Graduados, Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia

    Nora Cardona-Castro

Authors
  1. Nora Cardona-Castro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nora Cardona-Castro.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Tropical Diseases in Colombia

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cardona-Castro, N. Leprosy in Colombia. Curr Trop Med Rep 5, 85–90 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-018-0145-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-018-0145-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation