| Summary: | This study sought to estimate the hidden prevalence of leprosy in the Diamantina micro-region, using the methodology proposed by the Pan-American and World Health Organizations. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics were collected from the Notifiable Diseases Information System between 2006 and 2010. Ninety-one cases of leprosy were reported - mean detection rate of 11.1/100,000 inhabitants. There was a high hidden prevalence (72 cases), predominance of the clinical borderline type (57.1%), high percentage diagnosed with physical disability (78.7%) and low active search detection (16.5%). Health services have difficulties in early detection of leprosy, contributing to high hidden prevalence and maintenance of the disease’s epidemiological chain. This study encourages managers to include leprosy in the annual calendar of priority health activities and to develop health education strategies to break the transmission of leprosy.
doi: 10.5216/ree.v16i4.22371.
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