Leprosy in Puerto Rico: a decade later.

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.