[The present problem of leprosy in Morocco].

After giving a brief sketch of leprosy in Morocco in the past [see also this Bulletin, 1951, v. 48 (995)] the authors show by means of curves how the registered number of patients suffering from leprosy in Rabat has risen and fallen during the years from 1925 to 1955. In 1925 the number was 302, in 1928 it was 139, in 1930 it rose again to 327 and by 1936 to 544. By 1944 it had fallen to 125 but rose again by 1954 to 580. This fluctuation was due to the popularity of the treatment available at the time. The authors calculate that among the Moslem population there are about10, 000 suffering from leprosy (about 1 per 1, 000); among the Jewish and European population, the rate is about 1 per 10, 000. Of the known cases at present, the percentages according to race are Moslems 91.6, Jews 6.4, and Europeans 2. The difficulties in controlling leprosy in Morocco are finance, the absence of special clinics outside of Casablanca, and the negligence and fatalism of the patients which make regular treatment impossible.