Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its Weekly Epidemiological Record No. 35 on the Global Leprosy Situation. The organization has been at work trying to eliminate leprosy from the world as per its 2006-2010 strategic plan.
Leprosy is a debilitating skin disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It is also known as Hansen's disease. Leprosy affects the skin’s peripheral nerves, causing disfiguration and damage to the body’s nerves, limbs and eyes.
The disease has been around since Man’s ancient days. While the disease used to be a crippling one, today leprosy can be detected and can be treated. Most countries in the world are trying to improve health services for those affected by the disease. Leprosy is treated with multidrug therapy (MDT). MDT is a combination of three drugs developed over the 1960s to the 1980s: dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. These drugs kill the bacteria and cure the patient of leprosy.
Detection, however, may be difficult because the bacteria incubate for five years and it can take up to two decades before symptoms can be observed. Health systems are trying to encourage patients to self-identify by spreading awareness about the disease. Even if cured, patients will retain the disfigurements and injuries they have already suffered.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, 70% of the world’s cases occur in India, Indonesia and Myanmar. In 2009, there were 166,115 new cases of leprosy detected in Southeast Asia, 28,935 detected in Africa and 40,474 detected in the Americas. Prevalence rates are still quite low (below 1% of the population).
In Southeast Asia, 16,427 cases were children – or 10%. In Africa, 2,582 (9%) of new cases were children and in the Americas, 2,767 (7%) were children. There is a severe social stigma attached to leprosy in many communities. Children who develop the symptoms of leprosy may be banished from their villages and left to fend for themselves. Children of parents with leprosy may be denied access to health, education or other social services in the community.
In India, the Care and Protection of Children Act was recently amended to end any discriminatory references to the segregation/isolation of children living with tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, leprosy and other diseases.
The WHO’s plan for the next five years, according to the weekly report, will centre on “high-quality patient care and reducing the burden of disease not only by detecting new cases early but also by reducing disabilities, stigma and discrimination, and providing social and economic rehabilitation to people affected by leprosy.”