Hansen's disease in native-born citizens of the United States

Abstract

This paper presents a statistical analysis of data on 1,309 Hansen's disease (HD) patients born in the continental United States during the 50 year period 1932-81. Fifty-six percent of them were born in Texas. The cases of 66 percent were classed as multibacillary, 31 percent were considered paucibacillary, and the type was unknown for 3 percent. Blacks and whites appeared to be equally susceptible to Hansen's disease. Thirty percent had a history of contact with Hansen's disease. The age at diagnosis has increased an average of 2.7 years per decade, and the increase has accelerated in the last two decades. If the present trend continues, Hansen's disease among native-born citizens of the United States will ultimately disappear.