Department of infectious Diseases, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200443, China.
Acta Derm Venereol. 2021 May 19;101(5):adv00459. doi: 10.2340/00015555-3821.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Massive internal migration from rural to urban areas poses new challenges for leprosy control in Shanghai, China. This retrospective epidemiological study examined new cases of leprosy diagnosed in Shanghai from 2000 to 2019, with emphasis on internal migration cases. There were 145 cases of leprosy in the study period; the majority of cases (89.0%) were internal migrants. Migrant cases had a mean of 25.4 months lag time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis, which was significantly longer than that of resident cases (mean 10.8 months, p < 0.001). Greater lag time from the first visit to diagnosis was observed in migrant cases (mean 23.2 months) compared with resident cases (mean 9.4 months, p < 0.001). A large majority of cases (91.0%) had been misdiagnosed. Internal migrant cases were responsible for most incidences of leprosy in Shanghai. They often did not receive timely diagnosis and treatment, which may have an adverse impact on the prevention of epidemic leprosy.
麻风病是由麻风分枝杆菌引起的一种慢性传染病。大量农村人口向城市迁移，给中国上海的麻风病控制工作带来了新的挑战。本回顾性流行病学研究调查了 2000 年至 2019 年期间在上海诊断的新麻风病例，重点关注内部迁移病例。研究期间共有 145 例麻风病病例；大多数病例（89.0%）为流动人口。移民病例从症状出现到诊断的平均潜伏期为 25.4 个月，明显长于本地病例（平均潜伏期为 10.8 个月，p<0.001）。与本地病例（平均潜伏期 9.4 个月）相比，移民病例从首次就诊到诊断的潜伏期更长（平均 23.2 个月，p<0.001）。大多数病例（91.0%）被误诊。流动人口病例是上海麻风病发病的主要原因。他们往往不能得到及时的诊断和治疗，这可能对预防流行麻风病产生不利影响。
