Mastro T D, Redd S C, Breiman R F
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga. 30333.
Am J Public Health. 1992 Aug;82(8):1127-30. doi: 10.2105/ajph.82.8.1127.
Leprosy remains a major health problem in many regions of the world. In the United States, although leprosy continues to be reported, approximately 90% of cases are imported (i.e., occur among immigrants and refugees). An increase in imported cases began in 1978. This study was conducted to analyze this trend and to characterize the contributing cases.
Centers for Disease Control leprosy surveillance data from 1971 through 1988 were analyzed.
The number of imported cases reported annually was relatively constant from 1971 through 1977 (mean = 119 per year), increased to 307 in 1985, and then decreased to 102 in 1988. Of the 957 excess cases reported from 1978 through 1988, 73.4% were among persons from Southeast Asia, including 51.3% from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (Indochina). There was no coincident increase in indigenous cases of leprosy; the mean annual number of such cases was 17.7 (range = 10 to 29). Leprosy remains endemic in Texas, Hawaii, Louisiana, and possibly California.
An epidemic of imported leprosy began in the United States in 1978, peaked in 1985, and ended by 1988. This increase was primarily due to cases among refugees from Indochina and was limited by a decrease in the influx of Indochinese refugees in the mid-1980s. There is no evidence that these cases resulted in transmission in the United States.
麻风病在世界许多地区仍是一个主要的健康问题。在美国，尽管仍有麻风病病例报告，但约90%的病例是输入性的（即在移民和难民中发生）。输入性病例自1978年开始增加。本研究旨在分析这一趋势并描述相关病例特征。
分析了疾病控制中心1971年至1988年的麻风病监测数据。
1971年至1977年每年报告的输入性病例数相对稳定（平均每年119例），1985年增至307例，随后在1988年降至102例。在1978年至1988年报告的957例额外病例中，73.4%来自东南亚地区的人群，其中51.3%来自越南、柬埔寨和老挝（印度支那）。本土麻风病病例没有相应增加；此类病例的年平均数量为17.7例（范围为10至29例）。麻风病在得克萨斯州、夏威夷州、路易斯安那州以及可能在加利福尼亚州仍为地方病。
美国于1978年开始出现输入性麻风病流行，1985年达到高峰，并于1988年结束。这种增加主要是由于来自印度支那的难民中的病例，并且在20世纪80年代中期因印度支那难民流入减少而受到限制。没有证据表明这些病例在美国导致了传播。
