[Evaluation of 7 years of systematic surveys of leprosy in Morocco]

Between 1980 and 1987, 12 systematic surveys were made on a population of 254,979 people, of whom 236,868 were actually examined (92.61%). 422 suspected cases were identified i.e. a global detection rate of 1.66% of which only 241 reported to Aïn-Chock Hospital for further tests (55%). Out of these 241 suspected cases, 217 proved as having leprosy, i.e. a 90% correlation between the clinical suspicion and the biological identification. The 181 suspected cases who never reported to the hospital and the 16 leprosy patients whom we lost sight of constitute as a whole 46.68% of the suspected cases first identified. This shows an obvious lack of coordination between the local Authority and the medical service. The 185 confirmed cases of leprosy are shown in the table below and compared with those of the Central Statistical Office.