A survey to determine the prevalence of leprosy in a community in East Trinidad

Abstract

A house-to-house survey was conducted in a community in East Trinidad, where a clustering of cases had been observed. There were 1355 residents, of whom 73.5% had a complete visual skin examination. No new cases of leprosy were found but a variety of skin disorders were diagnosed. The most common disorder was pityriasis versicolor, which is one of the differential diagnoses of hypopigmented skin lesions. This has serious implications for the delayed diagnosis of leprosy. In all, 5 of the 9 old cases residing in the survey area suffered from paucibacillary disease, and had a history of contact with a lepromatous case. They were not listed initially as contacts of this index case. Contact lists should therefore include nonfamilial persons having frequent contact with an index case. The definition of 'frequent' should be determined by each programme. It may also be necessary to review the duration of surveillance of contacts. The survey was estimated to have cost about US $2,500 and was not considered to be cost-effective.