Mutirão serves 1,500 people to actively search for new cases of leprosy in Manaus

assistance

The action was part of January Purple, a campaign to intensify, provide guidance and search for new cases of leprosy

Manaus (AM) – A team of 100 professionals from the health and administrative areas was mobilized to serve 1,500 people in the 1st Dermatological Mutirão of the year. The action, which takes place this Saturday (27), was part of the program of the Fundação Hospitalar Alfredo da Matta (Fuham) do Janeiro Roxo and aimed to actively search for new cases of leprosy.

The joint effort, carried out at the Fuham headquarters by the State Department of Health of Amazonas (SES-AM), offered, in addition to dermatological consultations, rapid HIV and syphilis tests, biopsies to collect material from patients suspected of having leprosy. The Fuham pharmacy also distributed medicines for around 350 prescriptions prescribed by doctors and dermatologists who worked on the action.

The last event on the Purple January program at Fuham will be the seminar “Thinking about Leprosy: Clinical, Laboratory, Epidemiological Aspects and Perspectives”, which takes place on February 3rd.

The event starts at 8am, ending at 12:30pm, and will be held in the Auditorium of the School of Health Sciences (ESA) of the State University of Amazonas (UEA).

Reception

Fuham’s CEO, Carlos Chirano, informed about the objective and importance of the action.

“The joint effort is a way of welcoming and expanding the offer of exams to the population, consultations and seeking to increase the number of leprosy diagnoses. Mainly, if it is an early diagnosis, preventing the patient from having disabling consequences”,

said the Foundation’s CEO.

Trader Salime Rosas found out about the action through a local TV station. She left home in the early afternoon, managed to be seen, received the prescription and medication free of charge. The patient’s diagnosis was sporotrichosis, a disease caused by fungi that infect domestic cats, which they transmit to humans.

“It started with my cat sneezing. I thought it was the flu, we took it to the veterinary clinic and they said it was this disease. She was always close to me when I went to eat and a wound appeared on my thigh, which hurts and itches a lot”, informed the trader.

The merchant’s case symbolizes how the active search for leprosy cases ends up generating general dermatology care. Leprosy is a disease that is not very easy to diagnose as it can be confused with other skin diseases.

*With information from consultancy

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