Trend and Clinico-Epidemiological Pattern of Leprosy Cases in a Tertiary Care Center of North Kerala

Abstract

Methods: A record-based cross-sectional study was carried out at the tertiary care referral centre of Kozhikode district for a period of 6 months from January 2021 to June 2021. Data were collected during the previous 5 years, from January 2014 to December 2018, which included 328 confirmed Leprosy cases.

Results: The study included 328 confirmed leprosy cases, of whom 230 (70.1%) were males and 98 (22.9%) were females. The cases showed an upward trend, followed by a gradual decline. The age distribution indicated a shift toward older age groups during the period from 2014 to 2018. 14% of cases were migrants. Despite symptoms, there was delay in seeking medical care in 30.2% cases.  Multibacillary cases were the predominant type of leprosy. Moreover, male gender, older age group and migrants showed significant association with multibacillary leprosy.

Conclusion: The initial study period showed an upward trend in leprosy cases followed by a gradual decline. The study revealed predominance of multibacillary leprosy, especially among males, older age groups, and migrant populations, indicating the importance of targeted screening, early diagnosis, and treatment for high-risk populations to stop transmission and improve leprosy control.