01811nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001653001500042653001900057653001900076653001200095653001600107100001300123700001200136700001300148700001400161245011300175856006600288300001400354490000600368520119300374022001401567       2017                            d10aPrevalence10aPaucibacillary10aMultibacillary10aleprosy10aDeformities1 aRattan R1 aTegta G1 aSharma A1 aChauhan M00aA 10 year retrospective analysis of Hansen's disease patients in an urban leprosy centre of Himachal Pradesh  uhttp://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/article/view/1440/1256  a2470-24730 v43 a<p><strong>Background: </strong>Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which is a non culturable, slowly multiplying bacillus. The incubation period is variable and may take as long as twenty years for the symptoms to appear. It mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves, but has a wide range of clinical presentations. The disease is associated with deformities and social stigma. <strong>Methods: </strong>Records of Hansen’s disease patients from January 2007 to December 2016 were taken and analysed retrospectively. A total of 288 patients were registered during this period. <strong>Results: </strong>Out of 288 registered patients, 78.8% were males and 21.2% were females. Maximum number of patients (62.15%) was in the age group of 20-40 years. Multibacillary patients constituted 86.11% and only13.88% were paucibacillary patients. 66.66% patients had grade 0 deformities, 22.56% had grade 1 deformities and 10.76% had grade 2 deformities. <strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study recommends that continuous efforts should be made for early detection of cases to prevent spread of disease in the community and to avoid development of deformities.</p>
  a2394-6032