News Highlights:
- According to the Health Minister, 52% of new leprosy patients worldwide are from India.
- Union Health Ministry has devised a strategic road map for achieving zero cases of leprosy by 2030.
Key Takeaway:
Leprosy is a chronic bacterial infection which affects the skin, nerves, lungs and eyes.
Leprosy:
- About:
- Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis
- Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes.
- This nerve damage may result in a lack of ability to feel pain, which can lead to the loss of parts of a person’s extremities from repeated injuries or infection through unnoticed wounds.
- An infected person may also experience muscle weakness and poor eyesight.
- Leprosy is curable and treatment in the early stages can prevent disability.
- Apart from physical deformity, persons affected by leprosy also face stigmatization and discrimination.
- Symptoms:
- Skin lesions
- Severe pain
- Muscle weakness or paralysis (especially in the hands and feet)
- Enlarged nerves (particularly those around elbows and knees)
- Eye problems (that can lead to blindness)
- Ulcers on the soles of feet
- Transmission:
- The disease is transmitted through droplets from the nose and mouth.
- Prolonged, close contact over months with someone with untreated leprosy is needed to catch the disease.
- The disease is not spread through casual contact with a person who has leprosy like shaking hands or hugging, sharing meals or sitting next to each other.
- Moreover, the patient stops transmitting the disease when they begin treatment.
- Diagnosis:
- The diagnosis of leprosy is done clinically.
- Laboratory-based services may be required in cases that are difficult to diagnose.
- Treatment:
- Leprosy is a curable disease.
- The currently recommended treatment regimen consists of three drugs: dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine.
- The combination is referred to as multi-drug therapy (MDT).
- Prevention:
- Early detection of the disease is important, since physical and neurological damage may be irreversible even if cured.
- Medications can decrease the risk of those living with people who have leprosy from acquiring the disease and likely those with whom people with leprosy come into contact outside the home.
- The WHO recommends that preventive medicine be given to people who are in close contact with someone who has leprosy.
Government initiatives:
- National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP):
- NLEP (National Leprosy Eradication Programme) is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Government of India.
- NLEP functions under the umbrella of the National Health Mission (NHM).
- Under the NLEP, active case detection and regular surveillance under the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC), ASHA-based Surveillance for Leprosy Suspects (ABSULS), Active Case Detection and Regular Surveillance (ACDRS) are being conducted to interrupt transmission of the causative organism.
- National Health Policy, 2002:
- India achieved the goal set by the National Health Policy, 2002 of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem, defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 population, at the National level in December 2005.
- SPARSH Leprosy Awareness Campaign (SLAC):
- Sparsh leprosy Awareness Campaign which is implemented every year on the occasion of Anti-leprosy day.
- In 2017, SPARSH Leprosy Awareness Campaign was launched to promote awareness and address the issues of stigma and discrimination.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu