01879nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653001300054653001200067653002500079653001300104653001300117653001200130653004000142100001500182700001300197700001300210700001200223700001400235700001200249700001700261700001700278700001400295700001500309700001300324245005200337856005900389300001200448490000700460520104800467022001401515       2020                            d  c05/202010aKiribati10aMakogai10aMycobacterium leprae10abacteria10acrowding10aleprosy10atuberculosis and other mycobacteria1 aChambers S1 aIoteba N1 aTimeon E1 aRimon E1 aMurdoch H1 aGreen J1 aTrowbridge E1 aBuckingham J1 aCunanan A1 aWilliman J1 aPriest P00aSurveillance of Leprosy in Kiribati, 1935-2017.  uhttps://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/18-1746_article  a833-8400 v263 a<p>In Kiribati, unlike most countries, high and increasing numbers of cases of leprosy have been reported despite the availability of multidrug therapy and efforts to improve case finding and management. Historic records show that 28 cases had been identified by 1925. A systematic population survey in 1997 identified 135 new cases; the mean incidence rate for 1993-1997 was 7.4/10,000 population. After administering mass chemoprophylaxis, the country reached the elimination threshold (prevalence <1/10,000), but case numbers have rebounded. The mean annualized rate of new cases in 2013-2017 was 15/10,000 population, with the highest new case rates (>20/10,000 population) in the main population centers of South Tarawa and Betio. Spread is expected to continue in areas where crowding and poor socioeconomic conditions persist and may accelerate as sea levels rise from climate change. New initiatives to improve social conditions are needed, and efforts such as postexposure chemoprophylaxis should be implemented to prevent spread.</p>  a1080-6059