The prevalence and pattern of leprosy in a school survey.

The prevalence of leprosy in a school survey conducted in Panaji, India was found to be 5.3 per 1,000 with males predominating. The majority of patients had a single lesion on exposed parts of the body showing the clinical characteristics of tuberculoid leprosy. However, clinical features of indeterminate leprosy were seen in two patients and borderline tuberculoid in a single case. On the other hand, histopathologically, the majority of the patients were classified as having borderline tuberculoid or indeterminate leprosy. A disparity between the clinical and histopathologic diagnosis was evident. This observation emphasizes the importance of studying both the clinical and histopathologic features in deciding the precise status of a patient in the leprosy spectrum.