Leprosy in Punjab - an analysis of 4 years O.P.D. data

185 new leprosy cases were seen, of whom 52 (28 2%) were Punjabis and 133 (71.8%) were Non-Punjabi patients. A minimum of 13 (25%) Punjabi leprosy cases were indigenous. The Punjabi cases were drawn from several districts in Punjabi. Among the Punjabi patients, the mean age at onset of leprosy was 43.6 years, and 30.8% of them had infectious type of leprosy. BT was the most common type of leprosy (38.5%), and the age at onset was also highest in BT (49.8 years), among the Punjabi patients. The migrant labourers from Bihar and Eastern U.P. are the probable source of leprosy in Punjab.