Some epidemiologic aspects of yaws in the Ivory Coast

Because of the prevailing high levels of yaws, a mass treatment campaign was conducted in the Ivory Coast from 1956 to 1970. In 1970, at the end of the mass campaign, less than 30,000 cases of yaws were reported. After 1970, a program of detection and treatment of remaining foci of infection was carried out to control the disease. The number of cases reported annually continued to decline until 1974, when the number of reported cases began to rise. Since 1980, the annual reported incidence of yaws has declined. It is concluded that the mass campaign of 1956-1970 reduced the endemicity of yaws in the Ivory Coast. However, significant foci of the disease remain, and efforts to detect and treat yaws must be continued to prevent a resurgence of this infection in the Ivory Coast.