89 cases of leprosy reported in Mexico in 2020
The Ministry of Health indicates that most of the infections have been reported in Sinaloa.
So far in 2020, 89 cases of leprosy have been documented in Mexico, of which two occurred between September 27 and October 3, included in the weekly Epidemiological Bulletin of the Ministry of Health.
According to the document, 50 cases of leprosy have been reported in men and 39 in women, however, the figure is still far from the 127 cases that were reported in all of 2019.
Regarding the cases by states, 17 entities have reported at least one contagion of leprosy, led by Sinaloa, which has accumulated the highest number of people with the disease, with 15 men and 17 women.
According to the Epidemiological Bulletin of the National Epidemiological Surveillance System, so far in 2020, 89 cases of leprosy have been registered in Mexico.
In Sinaloa, 32 cases of leprosy have been reported; Michoacán follows with 15; Jalisco with 6; Nayarit with 5. Chiapas and Nuevo León registered four patients, respectively.
Meanwhile, those with between 1 and 3 are: State of Mexico (1), Morelos (1), Oaxaca (1), Aguascalientes (1), Baja California (2), Coahuila (2), Guanajuato (2), Quintana Roo (2), Tamaulipas (2), Colima (3), Guerrero (3), Yucatán (3).
Although cases continue to be reported, leprosy is no longer a disease that generates a problem for the public health of the country, since 1994 there has been one case per 100,000 inhabitants, which is the scenario proposed by the World Health Organization for dismissing the disease, according to federal government data.
“In Mexico, between 1989 and 2017, leprosy decreased 97%, from 16,694 to 412 cases; the highest number being concentrated in Guerrero, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, and Michoacán,” indicates the agency.
What is leprosy and how is it transmitted?
It is a chronic infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium leprae, it mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves, but can affect other tissues.
To acquire the infection, a healthy person is required to be susceptible to acquiring and developing the disease, in addition to a close and prolonged coexistence with a person suffering from leprosy and without treatment, to remove or expel bacteria when talking, coughing or breathing and that the healthy person is close to him.
What are the symptoms of Leprosy?
It manifests itself as light, reddish, coppery spots or plaques or cysts (little balls) mainly; Lesions come in a variety of numbers and forms, are associated with numbness (anesthesia), lack of hair (alopecia), and lack of sweating (anhidrosis). The most frequent location is on the face, chest, and extremities.
Skin lesions that are lighter or reddish than normal skin color
Lesions that show decreased sensitivity to touch, heat, or pain
Injuries that don’t heal after a few weeks or months
Muscular weakness
Numbness or lack of feeling in the hands, arms, feet, and legs
Source: milenio.com, gob.mx/salud
