A survey of leprosy impairments and disabilities among patients treated by MDT in Burkina Faso.
Since 1990, Burkina Faso, a West African country, has carried out a national leprosy control program treating with WHO/MDT nearly 12,000 patients between 1990 and 1994. A sample survey of 600 cases among these patients showed that 29.8% were disabled cases. There was a predominance of males, older patients, the multibacillary form of leprosy, and former cases treated with dapsone before MDT. The actual rate increased 8.5% compared to the frequency of disabilities at detection (21.3%). The need for disability care was estimated, respectively, at 24.4% and 5% for primary and secondary grades of disability. These important needs were so great that the authors recommend the planning and initiation of a physical rehabilitation and disability prevention program in this country.