title: Leprosy trends at a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India, from 2008 to 2015.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leprosy remains an important cause of preventable disabilities. After the advent of multidrug therapy, new leprosy cases have come down dramatically. Despite this achievement, India, which contributes 60% of the global leprosy burden, faces some challenges to eliminate the disease, including active transmission in the community and delayed diagnosis of leprosy patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of the study were 1) to determine sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of newly diagnosed adults and children (less than 15 years) with leprosy and their trends over time (2008-2015) and 2) to describe the profile of surgical procedures among leprosy patients registered for reconstructive surgeries during 2006-2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective descriptive study was conducted involving a record review of new patients with leprosy registered in Vimala Dermatological Centre, Mumbai.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 578 new leprosy cases were registered in the hospital during 2008-2015. There has been a steady increase in the trend of child cases (less than 15 years) registered in the facility (from 3% in 2008 to 18% in 2015),x2=12.11,p<0.01. The majority of the patients (68%) were migrants of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Targeting children and migrants and ensuring early diagnosis and treatment initiation are essential components for leprosy elimination in an urban metropolis in India.
authors.affiliation: German Leprosy and TB Relief Association, Chennai, India; thiruglra@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thirumugam
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Muthuvel
authors.affiliation: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Isaakidis
authors.affiliation: The Union, South East Asia Office, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Hemant Deepak
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Shewade
authors.affiliation: Vimala Dermatological Centre, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kattuppara
authors.affiliation: German Leprosy and TB Relief Association, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Rajbir
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: German Leprosy and TB Relief Association, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Srinivas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Govindarajulu
keywords: child cases; leprosy; migrants; reconstructive surgery