{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T17:58:11Z","timestamp":1790791091308,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790726400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Leprosy, also commonly known as Hansen\u2019s Disease (HD) remains a neglected tropical disease and a public health concern in disease endemic regions of the world. However, significant progress in disease reduction has been achieved in recent years through multidrug therapy programs, implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO). This study assessed the trend and epidemiological profile of HD cases diagnosed at Nazareti Leprosy Center (NLC), Ifakara, Tanzania, over a 25-year period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using routinely collected clinical records of newly diagnosed HD cases registered at NLC between 2000 and 2024. Data on demographic characteristics, clinical classification of HD, operational categories (paucibacillary and multibacillary), and disability grades of patients at presentation were collected. Poisson regression estimated annual incidence trends as incidence rate ratios (IRRs), while logistic regression assessed changes in leprosy characteristics as odds ratios (ORs), both reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 801 HD cases were recorded, of which males accounted for 67.4% of cases, with the highest proportion occurring among individuals aged 50\u2009+\u2009years (33.2%). Multibacillary disease predominated (62.7%), while grade 1 disability (G1D), at diagnosis was more common (52.7%) than G2D. Overall, case notifications increased significantly over time, with an average annual rise of 4.0% (IRR\u2009=\u20091.04; 95% CI: 1.03\u20131.07; p\u2009&lt;\u20090.001). Significant increases were observed among male individuals aged \u226550 years. Multibacillary HD cases and G1D disability also increased. In contrast, childhood cases (0\u201314 years) declined significantly during the study period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Leprosy epidemiology in rural Tanzania shows evolving patterns characterized by increasing case detection, a rising burden of multibacillary disease, and disability at diagnosis, versus a decline in childhood cases over time. Intensifying early case detection, community awareness, treatment and surveillance are essential to eliminate HD as a public health concern.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014761","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T17:29:22Z","timestamp":1790789362000},"page":"e0014761","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Epidemiological profile of leprosy cases at Nazareti Leprosy Center, Tanzania: A retrospective analysis (2000\u20132024)"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Robert","family":"Machang\u2019u","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences","place":["Morogoro, Tanzania"],"department":["Department of Microbiology and Parasitology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacob N.","family":"Kagesyeko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences","place":["Morogoro, Tanzania"],"department":["Department of Microbiology and Parasitology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Majani","family":"Edward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MacWish College of Health and Allied Sciences","place":["Mwanza, Tanzania"],"department":["Research and Training Unit, Department of Research and Innovation"]},{"name":"Innovation, Health policies and Implementation Research","place":["Dodoma, Tanzania"],"department":["Centre for Reforms"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wisdom Owoicho","family":"Ameh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Federal University of Technology","place":["Minna, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucy","family":"Chuwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nazareti Leprosy Center","place":["Morogoro, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriel","family":"Upunda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences","place":["Morogoro, Tanzania"],"department":["Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3108-4302","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jovin R.","family":"Tibenderana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences","place":["Morogoro, Tanzania"],"department":["Department of Public Health"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"reference":[{"issue":"8","key":"pntd.0014761.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"801","DOI":"10.1111\/ddg.13301","article-title":"Leprosy - 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