LEPROSY ERDICATION DAY

Admin February 1, 2018
LEPROSY ERDICATION DAY

World Leprosy day is observed internationally on January 30 or last Sunday, on 2018 this will be 28thJanuary .The day was chosen in Commemoration of the death of Mahatma Gandhi who understood the importance of Leprosy.

The day aims to raise awareness of a disease that many people believe to be extinct, when in fact around 210,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and we believe millions more people are living undiagnosed.

The last Sunday in January was chosen by French humanitarian Raoul Follereau in 1953, as the third Sunday from Epiphany from the Catholic calendar. The Catholic Church then reads the story of the Gospel where Jesus meets and heals a person with leprosy.

  • Theme 2018-is Zero Disabilities in Girls and boys.
  • It is caused by the bacterium –Mycobacterium Leprae.
  • The infection is Contagious, airborne.

The World Health Organisation declared leprosy ‘eliminated’ as a public health problem at a global level in 2005. This was based on a definition of less than one case per 10,000 people across a larger population.  This did not mean total eradication of the disease, and there were still many cases in pockets all over the world. However, once the target was reached, resources were often focused on other diseases and efforts to find and treat new cases diminished. The situation today is that there are around 220,000 new cases reported globally each year.

Beyond the new cases that are reported annually, there are likely to be millions more living with undiagnosed leprosy.  Further, there are about 6 million people who have been cured of the disease, but experience residual effects of disability and discrimination. The majority, 81%, of all new cases occur in three countries: India, Brazil and Indonesia – which are the most highly endemic countries for leprosy.

Early symptoms:-Hypo pigmented or reddish skin patches anywhere on the body with definite loss of sensation and thickened peripheral nerves.

Leprosy is most likely transmitted by air through droplets from nose and mouth, during close and frequent contacts with people. Who have not yet been treated? While it is spread in similar way to the common cold, it is much less infectious.

Leprosy is one of the least infectious diseases because it multiplies slowly and the vast majority of people have adequate natural immunity, so don’t contract the disease if exposed even when diagnosed many cases are not considered infectious and once treatment begins, those infectious cases become non-infectious within the first week of treatment.

Can it be cured????

The good news is that most of these consequences can be avoided since 1981 leprosy has been treated effectively with multidrug therapy (MDT), a combination of three drugs, which kills the bacteria and cures the person. If treated in the early stages of disease, MDT cam prevent the onset of impairments and disabilities.

The treatment typically takes from six month to one year.

The stigma still associated with leprosy remains a barrier to ending transmission, as people are often reluctant to get diagnosed or seek help. It can also have a devastating impact on peoples’ lives, long after they have been cured. To stop the transmission of leprosy, prevent disabilities and promote social inclusion by ending discrimination.

 

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