Leprosy awareness campaign, Janeiro Roxo, is supported by Aleam

Purple January Campaign

Manaus (AM) – With great support from the Legislative Assembly of Amazonas (Aleam), the Purple January Campaign was created in 2016 by the Ministry of Health, with the aim of raising awareness and reducing the stigma on leprosy. In 2019, by Law nº 4.922, Aleam created the Week for the Prevention and Combating of Leprosy Prejudice.

Manaus (AM) – With great support from the Legislative Assembly of Amazonas (Aleam), the Purple January Campaign was created in 2016 by the Ministry of Health, with the aim of raising awareness and reducing the stigma on leprosy. In 2019, by Law nº 4.922, Aleam created the Week for the Prevention and Combating of Leprosy Prejudice.

Inattention, disregard, indifference, disregard, indifference and belittlement. This is the negligence formula when it comes to Leprosy, an infectious, chronic disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae and which mainly affects the skin, mucous membranes and peripheral nerves.

Requests from state deputies directed to the State Government for the annual readjustment of the retirement supplement, instituted by State Law nº 1.735/1985 to people affected by leprosy, also go through the Legislative Assembly.

Aleam’s director of Health, doctor Arnoldo Andrade, says that it is very important for everyone to be aware of the disease, which has a great proportion and importance in Amazonas. “In the Legislative Assembly, we have been concerned about this issue for a long time, not least because it is a skin disease with a greater social impact. We have activities that go through the evaluation of the skin, carried out by a skin specialist, exactly to take the reading, ”he said.

Alfredo da Matta Foundation

The Alfredo da Matta Foundation (FUAM), in Manaus, is a reference center for the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy in the Amazon. The entity promotes regular actions of supervision of leprosy and training of health professionals in the capital and other municipalities of the state.

These activities are carried out by teams composed of dermatologists, nurses and nursing technicians, depending on the municipality’s demand and the need for specific training.

Signals and symptons

• Stains (whitish, brownish and reddish) on the skin with changes in painful, thermal and tactile sensitivity.
• Stinging sensation, shock, numbness and tingling along the nerves of the limbs.
• Hair loss in some areas and reduced sweating.
• Swelling and pain in the hands, feet and joints.
• Pain and thickening in the peripheral nerves.
• Decreased muscle strength, especially in the hands and feet.
• Lumps on the body.
• Dry skin.
• Dry eyes.
• Sores, bleeding and dryness in the nose.
• Fever and general malaise.

Where to treat:

If you experience one or more of these signs and symptoms, seek medical help. The health center closest to your home or a family health team can help you. In them, it is possible to take exams and receive guidance on how to treat yourself.

Relatives and friends:

In case of a confirmed diagnosis of leprosy, guide people with whom you maintain close and regular contact (family, friends, work colleagues) to also go to the doctor to be examined.

Follow the treatment:

Anyone diagnosed with leprosy should start taking the prescribed medication immediately. By doing so, the patient ceases to transmit the disease.

And attention: it is important not to abandon the treatment or stop taking the medicine.

* With advisory information

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