Abstract
Leprosy is a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) causing significant physical and functional disabilities around the world. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate school-based leprosy screening as a means of identifying early leprosy cases. Using a structured search method, 30 suitable publications were identified. Whilst all studies included in this review were found to identify cases of leprosy through school-based screening, sample sizes were high and numbers detected were small, raising concerns about the feasibility and sustainability of school-based screening as a stand-alone intervention for leprosy detection. For school-based screening programmes to become a sustainable intervention, the inclusion of both capacity building and health education components into school-based screening and intervention programmes should be further explored. More research is needed to consider alternate methods which maximise the efficiency of school-based approaches in the early case detection of leprosy. Also, cases found at school may be used to find further active cases via family and friends. School-based screening could be an effective solution for the early identification of leprosy particularly in areas of high endemicity, however to date there is limited data on its effectiveness compared with other interventions.
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