Eight years ago, India
declared leprosy an eliminated disease. But experts who counter the claim say
the official figures are faulty, and that the number of leprosy cases is
actually on the rise.Although the ministry report noted that India's
National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) has had success fighting the
disease, many experts are urging caution.
"When we found out that my fingers were
disfigured because of leprosy, my wife and eldest son asked me to leave home. I
ran a successful grocery store. I was reluctant to move out. They virtually
forced me out of home," said 52-year-old Rana, who now begs for a
living.
Many leprosy patients remain hidden from society.
According to the latest Indian health ministry report, 127,000 new leprosy
cases were reported in the country in 2012, and among all new cases reported
worldwide, more than half were in India.
"Many leprosy patients maintain secrecy about
their disease because of the social stigma attached to it. They avoid visiting
government or other affiliated hospitals where they fear people would know
about their disease. They go to private doctors instead,” dermatologist Dr.
Manas Biswas in West Bengal said.
According to a target set by the World Health
Organization (WHO), a country can officially announce it has eliminated leprosy
when there is less than one case for every 10,000 people - a prevalence rate
(PR) of less than one. When effective Multi Drug Therapy for leprosy began in
early 1980s, the PR in India was close to 58.
No comments:
Post a Comment