Studies on social medicine and leprosy in east China.

Abstract

Leprosy is a disease in which the social, economic, cultural and environmental factors play an important role in occurrence, spread, control, eradication and rehabilitation. Eliminating the unfavourable factors hindering leprosy control can make achieving the goal of basic eradication of leprosy in China before the end of this century possible. For this reason, since 1984 we have carried out systematic studies of the social aspects of leprosy in Baoying County, a former high-endemic area in Jiangsu Province of East China, where the endemicity of leprosy is nearing full control.