02133nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653001300080653001100093653001100104653001200115653000900127653001600136653001500152100001200167700001700179700001200196700001500208245008800223856005900311300001100370490000700381050003200388520139700420022001401817       1990                            d  c1990 Sep10aAdolescent10aAdult10aEthiopia10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aPrevalence1 aBerhe D1 aHaimanot R T1 aTedla T1 aTaddesse T00aEpidemiological pattern of leprosy in Ethiopia: a review of the control programmes.  uhttp://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/1990/v61n3/pdf/v61n3a08.pdf  a258-660 v61  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>Leprosy control started in a limited area of Ethiopia in 1956. Extended coverage of the country was achieved in the early seventies. Review of the data from the control projects since 1976 revealed that leprosy is a disease of the Ethiopian highlands where prevalence rates as high as 7 per thousand have been recorded in some provinces, while the cumulative national average for the last 13 years was 2.6 per thousand. The paucibacillary form was predominant. However, unlike other African countries, a relatively high proportion of multibacillary leprosy was found in Ethiopia. The male-to-female ratio was 2:1 with the highest prevalence in the 15-44 years age bracket. Detection rates for new cases have shown a gradual decline since 1982, a year before multiple drug therapy (MDT) was introduced into the country. For the last 5 years the number of new cases has stabilized at 4700/year. These trends probably reflect a general reduction in the prevalence of leprosy in the country, while the conspicuous decline in 1982 is most likely related to discharge of cases during screening before MDT. The new villagization policy of Ethiopia with its effective reorganization of the populations is believed to make control programmes and supervision of MDT easier and presumably more effective. Similarly, more reliable prevalence and incidence studies could be undertaken with success.</p>  a0305-7518