Leprosy not under control in India, NHRC seeks report from health min in 4 weeks

By: Editorial Team | | Published: June 18, 2014 11:01 am

In a setback to the leprosy eradication movement in India after the government had declared that leprosy is under control, it has been found that there has been an increase in new cases every year since 2010-2011. The National Human Rights Commission is now concerned and has asked the Union Health Ministry to provide a report in four weeks’ time.

There were 1,26,800 new cases in 2010-11, 1,27,295 in 2011-12 and 1,34,752 in 2012-13, NHRC said in a statement here.

New cases were being reported from many states and immediate steps were needed to be taken to contain them to maintain the level of elimination, that is, less than one case per 10,000 people at the national level. The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of leprosy patients. ‘Accordingly, a notice has been issued to the Secretary, Ministry of Health, Government of India, calling for a report within four weeks,’ the statement said. (Read: Stigma against leprosy still prevalent)

According to the media report, the National Leprosy Elimination Programme was a vertical programme run by specially trained staff under District Leprosy Officers till 2002-03, but the situation started worsening following integration of leprosy services with General Healthcare System. Only 25 per cent of the erstwhile vertical staff including paramedics, physiotherapists and health educators were retained with the National Leprosy Elimination Programme and the rest were surrendered to the General Healthcare System to work as multi-purpose workers and supervisors. (Read: World Leprosy Day — challenges and advancements in Leprosy eradication)

‘The General Healthcare staff has to perform other activities and, therefore, providing one dedicated worker for leprosy related work was getting difficult and as a result, due care could not be provided to the persons affected by leprosy,’ the statement said. It is also reported that during the last six years a number of officials had retired and in most of the states the posts remained vacant resulting in shortage of manpower at block level. Hence, the quality of services was not been attained, the statement added. (Read: Leprosy: Shun the stigma, embrace cure)

What are important facts about leprosy?

All of us have heard about leprosy, and usually associate it with a sickly and deformed person, shying away from the world at large. But there is more to the condition than just deformity. The stigma attached with the disease prevents the afflicted from being productive members of the society and pushes them into poverty. This World Leprosy Day we bring you 10 facts about the condition:

Fact #1: India leads the world in the number of leprosy cases

To be more specific, we have fifty eight percent of the global leprosy load. Currently 1,34,752 new cases are detected in India in the first quarter of 2013. The number of women afflicted by the disease is a lot more than the number of men and over thirteen thousand children have been found to be afflicted with this disease. Read more about the number of leprosy cases in India.

Fact #2: Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases in the world

Leprosy is one of the oldest and most stigmatised diseases the world over. It is also known as Hansen’s Disease named after the scientist who discovered it – Armauer Hansen. It is a chronic infectious disease that primarily affects the nervous system and numbs the extremities in the exposed parts of the body like the hands, feet and face.

Fact #3: Is caused by a bacteria

The disease is caused by a rod-shaped bacterium known as Mycobacterium leprae. The most common symptom is the occurrence of paled patches on skin without sensitivity.

Fact #4: It is not easily transmitted

It is believed to be transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth. But unlike other infectious diseases it spreads only with repeated and close contact with the infected person, and only untreated patients pose a risk. If an infected person seeks treatment, from the very first dose itself the amount of bacteria in the person reduces drastically. Read more about 10 facts about leprosy you didn’t know.

With inputs from PTI

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Published: June 18, 2014 11:01 am

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