Epidemiology of Leprosy in China,2021:An Update

Objective:Leprosy is an infectious diseases that remains a concerning public health issue.The infection of Mycobacterium leprae still exists at the county level in hard-to-access areas in southwest China.An accurate analysis of the prevalence of leprosy in various regions is necessary for the formulation of prevention and control strategies,so we conducted this study to describe the epidemiological characteristics of leprosy in China in 2021 and provide essential information for future national leprosy control and prevention strategies.Methods:We collected epidemiological data of leprosy from 31 provinces,autonomous regions,and municipalities of China(except for Hong Kong,Macao,and Taiwan)provided by the Leprosy Management Information System.We performed a comparative analysis of the epidemiological features of patients with leprosy including age,sex,geographical distribution,and grade of disability.Results:In total,374 newly detected leprosy cases were reported nationwide in China in 2021,giving an incidence rate of 0.27 per million population,which represented a decrease of 7.9%compared with 2020.Among the population with leprosy in 2021 that comprised 238 males(63.6%)and 136 females(36.4%),1.9%(7/374)were children younger than 15 years,92.8%(347/374)had multibacillary leprosy,and 18.2%(68/374)had grade 2 disability.More than half of the new leprosy cases(54.8%,205/374)were distributed in southwest China.There were 33 relapsed leprosy cases reported in 2021.By the end of 2021,there were 1,897 registered leprosy cases reported nationwide,giving a prevalence rate of 1.35 per million population.Conclusion:The leprosy epidemic in China shows a downward trend in terms of the prevalence and incidence rates.However,the high prevalence of leprosy in southwest China is still a matter of concern.