[Yaws in Côte d'lvoire: health problem forgotten and neglected]

Yaws is endemic in Côte d'Ivoire, with an hospital incidence estimated by the medical statistics at 0.58 per thousand in 2000; cases of yaws were notified in all medical districts. This study describes the yaws situation in Côte d'Ivoire based on available hospital statistics and a cross section investigation. The yaws diagnoses during the investigation were based on clinic lesions. The yaws prevalence found at the end of the investigation was 5 per thousand: the majority of the patients were children under 15 years old (82%) and male (91%). Only 27% of diagnosed patients had a medical treatment at the time of the study. Yaws is still endemic in Côte d'Ivoire which underlines the need for an implementation of a national control strategy.