La lèpre de l’enfant à Thiès/Sénégal: signal d’une recrudescence?

Leprosy is an infectious and transmissible disease. According to the WHO, the number of new cases of leprosy in children in Senegal has risen moderately since 2013. This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary features of leprosy in children in the geographical areas of two social rehabilitation villages in the region of Thiès. We conducted a retrospective study over a period of 3 years (2013-2015). All new cases of Hansen’s disease aged 0 -15 years were included. Over the three year period, 39 children were included in the study, with a boy predominance (n=23, 59%). Among these children, 27 (66.7%) came from a social rehabilitation village for leprosy patients. One family member was affected by leprosy in 27 cases (69.2%). More than half of the children (23 cases, 58.9%) had multibacillary leprosy (lepromatous-lepromatous). All children underwent a 12-month treatment, at the end of which thirty-six (92.3%) children were healed. Leprosy is still present in Senegal despite the efforts made by the national programme to combat leprosy. In the light of these results, it is important to emphasize the role of active screening strategy targeted to children, which seems to have shown its effectiveness in the region. Early detection, contact tracing and early treatment are important factors in the reduction of the contagiousity of leprosy.