Asylum of the former colony of Maracanaú (Ceará). Maria Barros does not know his age. He came to the colony 20 years and lost track of time. "Girls" share her crafts room and decorate the room. The detection rate of leprosy cases in Brazil in 2002, was 2.69 per 10,000 population, with 47 026 new cases detected. The North region had the highest rate in the country with 7.73 per 10 000 inhabitants., Followed by the Midwest region with 6.61 per 10 000 inhabitants., Considering, according to parameters accepted by the Ministry of Health as areas hyperendemic. The northeast region with a rate of 3.23 per 10 000 inhabitants. and the Southeast with 1.46 per 10 000 inhabitants. were considered high risk. Meanwhile, the sul region with a detection rate of 0.75 per 10 000 inhabitants. was evaluated as medium intensity of transmission.