New Delhi, April 11, IRNA -- Fight against leprosy has to be a collective effort of government, NGOs and civil society, India’s Vice Presidet Mohd Hamid Ansari Wednesday in Pune, a city of Maharashtra state.
Speaking at a function organized by International Leprosy Union Health alliance (ILU-HA) Ansari appealed to bring the leprosy-affected people into the mainstream. He said that The work of rehabilitation started by Mahatma Gandhi for the affected had not yet ended.
Vice President said, 'There are many misconceptions people carry but it has to be understood that leprosy is not God's curse and is just an infectious disease and should be cured as such,' pti reported. He said information campaigns in high-risk areas were crucial so that patients can come forward and receive proper treatment.
The most effective way of preventing disabilities and transmission of the disease lies in an early diagnosis and treatment with multi-drug therapy (MDT), he maintained.
Ansari felicitated ten women health workers with the Kushtha Sevak Mahila Puraskar on the occasion.
According to a report, the latest figures released by India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a total of 0.83 lakh cases are on record giving a prevalence rate of (PR) of 0.68 per 10,000 population though only 530 districts out of the 640 have achieved the elimination level. Chhattisgarh (1.69 per 10,000 population) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (2.93 per 10,000) have the prevalence rate between 1 and 3 per 10,000. Although Bihar has reached the PR of less than 1 in 2011-12, the government is still keeping an eye over it.
According to official reports received during 2011 from 130 countries and territories, the global registered prevalence of leprosy at the beginning of 2011 stood at 192,246 cases, while the number of new cases detected during 2010 was 228,474 (excluding the small number of cases in Europe).
Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium Lepromatosis. It causes skin sores, nerve damage, and muscle weakness that gets worse over time. Leprosy is not very contagious and it has a long incubation period (time before symptoms appear), which makes it hard to know where or when someone caught the disease. Children are more likely than adults to get the disease.
A number of different antibiotics (including dapsone, rifampin, clofazamine, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and minocycline) are used to kill the bacteria that cause the disease. More than one antibiotic is often given together.
Aspirin, prednisone, or thalidomide is used to control inflammation.
