02200nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653000900054653002100063653001000084653001500094653002000109653001700129653001200146100001200158700001500170700001100185700001000196700002200206700001600228700001500244700001200259700001200271245011800283856007600401520140700477022001401884       2022                            d  c10/202210aAsia10aHansen's disease10aJapan10abirth year10aDisease control10aEpidemiology10aleprosy1 aYotsu R1 aMiyamoto Y1 aMori S1 aAto M1 aSugawara-Mikami M1 aYamaguchi S1 aYamazaki M1 aOzaki M1 aIshii N00aHansen's disease (leprosy) in Japan, 1947-2020: An epidemiologic study during the declining phase to elimination.  uhttps://www.ijidonline.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1201-9712%2822%2900565-33 a<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, was a major public health problem in Japan in the early 20 century. Today, the number of new cases has decreased significantly. We aimed to investigate the trends of leprosy in Japan over the past 73 years and the challenges faced in recent years.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We assessed the data on newly registered cases of leprosy from 1947 to 2020.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>A total of 10,796 newly registered cases of leprosy were reported during the study period, of which 7,573 were registered in mainland Japan, 2,962 in Okinawa, and 250 were of foreign origin. Most autochthonous cases were born before 1950 in mainland Japan and before 1975 in Okinawa. The number of non-autochthonous cases surpassed that of autochthonous cases in 1992. Non-autochthonous cases originated from 26 countries, especially Brazil and the Philippines. Three cases of antimicrobial resistance were detected among non-autochthonous cases since 2004.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>Our data suggest that ongoing transmission of leprosy likely ceased in the 1940s in mainland Japan, and in the 1970s in Okinawa. With the recent rise of non-autochthonous cases with globalization, continuous surveillance and efforts to maintain leprosy services within the country are necessary even after reaching the state of elimination.</p>
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