Incidence of leprosy in school-children and their family members in Berhampur.
A school survey, followed by a contact survey, was carried out in Berhampur, a city in southern Orissa. In a study of 8,870 school-children, leprosy was detected in 15, giving a prevalence rate of 16.91 per 10,000 with a male:female ratio of 8:7. Of these, 14 (93.99%) had paucibacillary leprosy. More cases [11 (73.33%)] were seen in the age-group of 10-15 years. Exposed parts, such as lower limbs, upper limbs and head and neck in that order, were the sites of predilection, accounting for 85.71% of total lesions. Nerve involvement was found in 2 (13.33%) girls with deformity (ulnar claw) in one of them (6.66%). BCG scar was present in 11 (73.33%) cases. Among the vaccinated cases, tuberculoid type was the most common, followed by indeterminate, pure neuritic and borderline, in that order. A contact survey detected 2 multibacillary cases in two families (13.33%). In each case, the father was the index source. The study revealed that a maximum number of students, 8 (53.3%), belonged to the middle socioeconomic class. Of the 15 affected, 60% were undernourished and the rest well nourished. No other systemic disease was found clinically associated with leprosy.
Sahoo
A
A
MKCG Medical College, Berhampur 760 004, Orissa, India.
Singh
P C
PC
Pattnaik
S
S
Singh
Neelanchal
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005121:Extremities / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D015439:Leprosy, Borderline / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015441:Leprosy, Tuberculoid / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000254:growth & development*; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors