Epidemiology of leprosy in China, 2021: an update

Objective: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of leprosy in China in 2021 and provide essential information for future national leprosy control and prevention strategies. Methods: We collected epidemiological data of leprosy from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities of China (except for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) provided by the Leprosy Management Information System. We performed a comparative analysis of the epidemiological features of patients with leprosy including age, sex, geographical distribution, and grade of disability. Results: In total, 374 newly detected leprosy cases were reported nationwide in China in 2021, giving an incidence rate of 0.27 per million population, which represented a decrease of 7.9% compared with 2020. Among the population with leprosy in 2021 that comprised 238 males (63.6%) and 136 females (36.4%), 1.9% (7/374) were children younger than 15 years, 92.8% (347/374) had multibacillary leprosy, and 18.2% (68/374) had grade 2 disability. More than half of the new leprosy cases (54.8%, 205/374) were distributed in southwest China. There were 33 relapsed leprosy cases reported in 2021. By the end of 2021, there were 1,897 registered leprosy cases reported nationwide, giving a prevalence rate of 1.35 per million population. Conclusion: The leprosy epidemic in China shows a downward trend in terms of the prevalence and incidence rates. However, the high prevalence of leprosy in southwest China is still a matter of concern.