01854nas a2200337   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653001500054653001600069653001000085653002100095653001000116653001100126653001100137653001100148653001200159653000900171653001900180653001500199653002600214100001300240700001100253700001200264700001100276245006800287300001100355490000700366050001400373520111500387022001401502       2000                            d  c2000 0810aAdolescent10aAge Factors10aChild10aChild, Preschool10aChina10aFemale10aHumans10aInfant10aleprosy10aMale10aMass Screening10aPrevalence10aRetrospective Studies1 aChen X S1 aLi W Z1 aJiang C1 aYe G Y00aLeprosy in children: a retrospective study in China, 1986-1997.  a207-110 v46  aCHEN 20003 a<p>Leprosy in children forms an important link in the natural evolution and the epidemic profile of the disease. The study was undertaken on 1208 child cases detected during the years 1986-1997 in China. The number of child cases constituted 3-4 per cent of the total during this period although the incidence rates decreased dramatically. The detection rate significantly increased with age, and the average rate of 0.027 per 100,000 population was much lower than that in adults. In the pediatric cases, children in the younger age group had a higher prevalence of solitary lesions and lower prevalence of reactions and disabilities than the older group. A total of 70.01 per cent of the affected cases were infected by intra-familial contact, 35.60 per cent were detected by contact examination, and another 22.86 per cent by active surveys. The results of the study suggest that leprosy in children is not a public health problem at the present in China, but the regular screening of children in the family of patients is still one of the important ways to detect child cases and should be recommended.</p>  a0142-6338