Almodóvar P I, Figueroa J
Department of Dermatology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067.
Bol Asoc Med P R. 1990 Oct;82(10):466-8.
A study to evaluate the changes in the incidence and prevalence of leprosy in Puerto Rico was done to include the years 1981-1989. During this period, 75 new cases were diagnosed with an average of 8.3 cases per year. The yearly incidence was 1.9 cases per million which is significantly lower to the 4.6 per million in the previous study. At the present moment 182 cases are been followed at the Tropical Diseases Clinic of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine with a prevalence of 5.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. It is important to notice that 16 percent of the patients at the clinic were foreigners, a significant increase from a previous study. The decrease in the incidence of leprosy may be due to advances in the treatment of the disease and the new approach to integrate the patient into the community.
一项评估波多黎各1981年至1989年期间麻风病发病率和患病率变化的研究开展。在此期间，共诊断出75例新病例，平均每年8.3例。年发病率为每百万人口1.9例，显著低于之前研究中的每百万人口4.6例。目前，波多黎各大学医学院热带病诊所正在对182例病例进行跟踪，患病率为每10万居民5.4例。需要注意的是，诊所中16%的患者为外国人，与之前的研究相比有显著增加。麻风病发病率的下降可能归因于疾病治疗的进展以及将患者融入社区的新方法。
