Recent Trends of Leprosy over a Decade in a Tertiary Healthcare Center in Bengaluru

Introduction: Leprosy is a persistent infectious illness which still persists in certain pockets of high endemicity in India. Many of these patients end up with complications with deformities and reactions reporting to our tertiary healthcare center. Aims and Objectives: To analyze the clinical trends of Hansen’s disease over a decade in a tertiary healthcare center in Bengaluru. Materials and Methods: A retrospective record-based study was conducted on leprosy patients registered in our department of dermatology in Bengaluru over a decade, starting from April 2013 to November 2023. Results: A total of 311 cases were registered in the last decade, out of which 73.3% were immigrants. The highest number of cases was among those aged 20–29 years. Childhood leprosy cases constituted 4.1% of total cases. Males exceeded females by 273 (87.7%). The highest cases (16.39%) were noted in 2016 with 51 patients. Multibacillary leprosy constituted 287 (92.28%), among which lepromatous leprosy was the most common presentation. Deformities were seen in 219 (70.4%) patients, with Grade 1 deformity in 158 (50.8%) and claw hand being the most common Grade 2 deformity. There were 22 (7.07%) patients who experienced a reaction; type 2 reactions are more frequent than type 1 reactions. Conclusion: Over the years, our tertiary health center has seen a consistent number of leprosy cases. However, a significant drop in cases was noted in 2020–2021, probably owing to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. Strikingly, 73% of our patients were immigrants, hailing from West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh. This indicates the need for policy makers to focus on the areas of active transmission in the era of eradication of leprosy.