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World day against Leprosy

 In Mumbai Smiles

24 jan I

26th January is observed as Leprosy Day throughout the world. It is a well-known fact that leprosy is one of the most ancient diseases.  For centuries until Hansen discovered that bacillus- M. leprae causes it, very little was known about the disease.  Once the cause was known, however, finding a treatment and the sources and/or mechanisms of transmission of the disease became inevitable and almost another century went by until the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued guidelines on the treatment of leprosy.

Leprosy continues to spread. However, nowadays, its global distribution is very different from that of 30 years ago .Today its significantly prevalent among impoverished countries of the world and its transmission remains active. Emerging countries like India and Brazil have the largest number of leprosy cases in the world at 128,500. 80% of them relate to multibacillary leprosy, which increases the risk of transmission to those who are in household contact with these patients.

Within our associations, we should do everything possible to:

    • Ensure accessible and uninterrupted multidrug therapy services (MDT) to all patients through flexible and patient-friendly drug delivery systems;
    • Ensure the sustainability of MDT services by integrating leprosy services with general health services and building general health workers’ ability to treat leprosy;
    • Encourage self-reporting and early treatment by promoting community awareness and changing the image of leprosy;
    • Monitor the performance of MDT services, the quality of patients’ care and the progress being made towards elimination through national disease surveillance systems

Since it is quite evident that Hansen’s disease still exists and that new cases continue to emerge, that there are patients with no diagnosis and, consequently, no treatment, it should a ‘YES’ to the World day against leprosy, a ‘YES’ to the thought that eradicating poverty will help eliminate leprosy and many other forgotten diseases.

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