Leprosy secondary prevention
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Overview
Unfortunately today it is not available a test to identify if a person was infected by mycobacterium leprae, until the first symptoms start to appear. However, primary and tertiary prevention are two ways of preventing being infected with the disease, as well as minimizing damage caused in patients with this condition.
Secondary Prevention
Attending to the long and variable period of time, between the first contact with the mycobacteria and when symptoms start to develop, it is not possible to determine if a person has been infected by a contact with a patient who has the active form of the disease, nor a specific time for the first symptoms to appear. The prevention of being infected by the bacillus, will then have to be focused on the primary prevention, with measures such as avoidance of contact with patients with the disease, as well as tertiary prevention, with measures such as education of the populations on how to deal with their lesions, and to identify early signs that should prompt them to seek medical attention.