02818nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653001000054653001700064653001200081100001400093700001400107700001300121700001500134700001500149700001400164700001300178700001500191245007300206856008900279300000900368490000700377520215400384022001402538       2020                            d  c08/202010aBenin10aEpidemiology10aleprosy1 aGnimavo R1 aDjossou P1 aSopoh GE1 aAnagonou G1 aBarogui YT1 aWadagni A1 aHouezo J1 aJohnson RC00aTrends of the leprosy control indicators in Benin from 2006 to 2018.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433205/pdf/12889_2020_Article_9341.pdf  a12540 v203 a<p><b>BACKGROUND: </b>Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics of leprosy in Benin from 2006 to 2018.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>This descriptive retrospective study included data from January 2006 to December 2018. The data of all patients treated in the leprosy treatment centres (LTCs) of the Republic of Benin were obtained from the LTC registers and analysed using Stata/SE 11.0 software. Quantum GIS (Geographic Information System) version 2.18.23 software was used for mapping. The main indicators of leprosy were calculated according to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>During the study period, a total of 2785 (annual average of 214) new cases of leprosy were diagnosed. The median age of the patients was 38 years, with extremes ranging from 6 to 88 years. The sex ratio (males/females) was 1.18 (1509/1276). The departments of Plateau, Atacora, and Zou were the most endemic; their leprosy detection rate per 100,000 population during these thirteen years were 6.46 (479/7414297), 5.38 (534/9932880) and 5.19 (526/10134877), respectively. The leprosy detection rate declined from 3.8 to 1.32 per 100,000 inhabitants. The proportion of paediatric cases varied from 8.56 to 2.67% as the proportion of multibacillary forms increased from 72.95 to 90%. From 2006 to 2018, 622 leprosy patients detected had grade 2 disability (G2D) at screening, indicating an average rate of 5.06 (622/122877474) cases with G2D per million population. The proportion of grade 2 disabilities increased from 21.23 to 32% during the study period. The majority of new leprosy cases among foreign-born persons were Nigerian (85.71%). The completion of multidrug therapy (MDT) for paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) leprosy cases ranged from 96.36 to 95.65% and from 90.53 to 94.12%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>In Benin, leprosy remains a major health challenge; it is important to revitalize the epidemiological surveillance system to achieve its elimination by 2030.</p>  a1471-2458