A Ten Year Study of Pediatric Leprosy Cases in a Tertiary Care Centre in South Kerala

Leprosy in children is a valuable marker of impact of programme. This study has been carried out to analyse the clinical and histopathological characteristics of pediatric leprosy cases attending a tertiary health care centre in South Kerala bordering Tamil Nadu. This is a retrospective, analytical study of pediatric leprosy cases seen from 01 January 2007 to 31 December 2016 in the Dermatology out-patient department of Dr. Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College, Karakonam, Trivandrum, Kerala. Seven of the 52 leprosy cases in this hospital during this study period children (age group of 6 to 14), of which 6 were females. Two cases among these were borderline lepromatous and the rest were indeterminate leprosy. Three patients had contact with lepromatous leprosy (familial). Histopathology correlated well with our clinical diagnosis. Grade 2 deformity was seen in one child, who had taken incomplete treatment earlier. While the number of cases reporting to this centre may or may not reflect true epidemiological picture at population level, data may be used to plan proper research cum intervention studies. The prevalence of childhood leprosy can be reduced if we are vigilant and improve the surveillance of contacts, as 43% of cases in this study had a contact of leprosy in the family.