TY - JOUR
KW - Health Personnel
KW - Health  Services
KW - leprosy
KW - Brazil
KW - ML Flow test
AU - Calado KLS
AU - Magnanini MMF
AU - Moura RS
AU - Gallo MEN
AU - Bührer-Sékula S
AU - Oliveira MLWD
AB - BACKGROUND: In highly endemic countries, transmission and sub-clinical infection of leprosy are likely and the disease manifests itself in individuals without any known close contact with a leprosy patient. Health workers are social contacts belonging to the same network (the Health System) and some of them share the same social environment (nursing assistants) as patients with known patients and / or carriers.

OBJECTIVE: To identify ML Flow seropositivity among health professionals.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a serological survey with the ML Flow test in 450 health professionals (doctors, nurses and nursing assistants), in order to detect seropositivity in areas of high and low endemicity in municipalities from three Brazilian states (RJ, MS and RS).

RESULTS: The results showed general 16% seropositivity, higher in low endemic areas, regardless of whether there was direct care for leprosy patients. Paradoxically, a statistical association was observed between the area studied and seropositivity, as the place with the lowest endemicity (CA) had the highest seropositivity rate (p = 0.033).

CONCLUSION: The authors suggest these results are associated with a presence of an unspecified link to bovine serum albumin (BSA), carrier of PGL-1 in the ML Flow test, and recommend expanded seroepidemiological research utilizing tests with human and bovine albumin.
BT - Anais brasileiros de dermatologia
C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24474100?dopt=Abstract
CN - CALADO 2013
DA - 2013 Nov-Dec
DO - 10.1590/abd1806-4841.20132139
IS - 6
J2 - An Bras Dermatol
LA - eng
N2 - BACKGROUND: In highly endemic countries, transmission and sub-clinical infection of leprosy are likely and the disease manifests itself in individuals without any known close contact with a leprosy patient. Health workers are social contacts belonging to the same network (the Health System) and some of them share the same social environment (nursing assistants) as patients with known patients and / or carriers.

OBJECTIVE: To identify ML Flow seropositivity among health professionals.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a serological survey with the ML Flow test in 450 health professionals (doctors, nurses and nursing assistants), in order to detect seropositivity in areas of high and low endemicity in municipalities from three Brazilian states (RJ, MS and RS).

RESULTS: The results showed general 16% seropositivity, higher in low endemic areas, regardless of whether there was direct care for leprosy patients. Paradoxically, a statistical association was observed between the area studied and seropositivity, as the place with the lowest endemicity (CA) had the highest seropositivity rate (p = 0.033).

CONCLUSION: The authors suggest these results are associated with a presence of an unspecified link to bovine serum albumin (BSA), carrier of PGL-1 in the ML Flow test, and recommend expanded seroepidemiological research utilizing tests with human and bovine albumin.
PY - 2013
SP - 918
EP - 23
T2 - Anais brasileiros de dermatologia
TI - Serology with ML Flow test in health professionals from three different states of Brazil
UR - http://www.scielo.br/pdf/abd/v88n6/0365-0596-abd-88-06-0918.pdf
VL - 88
SN - 1806-4841
ER -