Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective To analyze epidemiological characteristics and trends of leprosy in Wuhan, and to provide a reference for the formulation of prevention and control measures in the new era. Methods Epidemiological data on leprosy in Wuhan from 1952 to 2023 were collected, and descriptive and trend analyses were conducted. A Joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the trends of leprosy detection rates and prevalence rates. Results A total of 3 657 new leprosy cases were reported in Wuhan from 1952 to 2023, including 2 918 males and 739 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 3.95∶1. Their ages at onset were 29.00 ± 14.87 years. The time to confirmed diagnosis exceeded 2 years in 2 089 cases （57.12%）, and the rate of grade 2 disability reached 23.08% （844 cases）. Among the 2 463 patients who underwent immunospectrometric typing, 816 （33.13%） were diagnosed with multibacillary leprosy. The detection rate of leprosy in Wuhan decreased from 4.22 per 100 000 in 1952 to 0 in 2023, with an average annual decrease of 9.59% （t = -18.21, P < 0.001）; the prevalence rate declined from 40.93 per 100 000 in 1962 to 0.02 per 100 000 in 2023, with an average annual decrease of 10.95% （t = -52.70, P < 0.001）. The top 3 regions with the highest number of newly detected leprosy cases in Wuhan from 1952 to 2023 were Qiaokou District, Huangpi District, and Jiang'an District. Over the past 30 years, no new leprosy cases had been detected among children and adolescents aged 0 to 14 years. Conclusion The leprosy epidemic in Wuhan had shown an overall downward trend and was at a low endemic level.

Key words: Leprosy, Epidemics, Communicable disease control, Prevalence, Epidemic trend, Wuhan