Epidemiology and Clinical Features of New Leprosy Cases at the Raoul Follereau Institute of Cote D'Ivoire (Adzope) from 2013 to 2023

Objective: To describe the epidemiological aspects of new leprosy cases observed at the IRFCI from 2013 to 2023. Material and Method:This is a retrospective study of new leprosy cases confirmed by biopsy and/or bacteriological examination from January 2013 to December 2023.Analysis of data such as sex, age and degree of disability as well as bacteriological index was carried out at the IRFCI.Results: 425 new cases of leprosy were diagnosed at the Institut Raoul Follereau de Cte d'Ivoire (IRFCI).The mean detection rate was 0.84 during the study period.The sex ratio was 1.1, with 46.5% female and 53.4% male.The rate of new paediatric leprosy cases was 14.8%, compared with 85.1% for those over 15 years of age.Paucibacillary (PB) forms accounted for 29.8% compared with 70.1% of multibacillary (MB) forms.Out of the 425 new cases of leprosy, 43.2% had a disability, of which 04.9% were grade 1 (ID1) and 38.3% grade 2 (ID2).PB forms affected 53.5% of women, 81.8% of subjects aged over 15 and 37% of ID2.MB forms affected 56% of men, 86.5% of subjects aged over 15 and 39.2% had ID2. Conclusion:The significant presence of multibacillary forms and the detection of paediatric leprosy cases indicate a continuing spread of the disease.These findings call for intensified leprosy control in Cte d'Ivoire, with the establishment of a surveillance, monitoring and alert system.