Even though India achieved elimination of leprosy in 2005, the country contributes to 50 per cent of the cases reported from more than 120 countries every year.
Technically, elimination is different from eradication and by the standards of the World Health Organisation, the former is achieved when there is less than one case per 10,000 population.
Experts are of the opinion that early diagnosis is the key to effective leprosy treatment. If left undiagnosed because of scant signs of illness, and consequently untreated, leprosy can progress to a state of high significance and result in irreversible nerve damage with profound sensory and motor nerve loss, deformity, and blindness.
Dr Astha Gupta, Consultant, Dermatology at the Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad, said, “It stands to reason that identifying leprosy patients, preferably before the onset of symptoms, could have a dramatic effect on clinical outcome”.
The WHO has suggested diagnosis of leprosy be made by the observation of one or more of the following: hypopigmented or reddish skin patches with definite loss of sensation; thickened peripheral nerves; and acid-fast bacilli on skin smears/biopsy specimens. Acid fast bacilli are bacteria that cause leprosy, tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections.
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.
Early diagnosis is also the key to strengthening control programmes. More rapid diagnosis and administration of treatment are regarded as critical measures to ensure that current control strategies continue to reduce the burden of leprosy.
Statistically speaking, the chances of contracting leprosy in India are 1/14,300, i.e. less than 0.007 per cent. But if one does contract the disease, the best bet remains an early diagnosis.
There is no cure for leprosy. Whatever damage has already been caused by the disease before treatment, cannot be reversed. But, if caught early, a cocktail of 4-5 drugs (MDT or Multi Drug Therapy, in common parlance) can arrest the progression of the disease in just 48 to 72 hours and make a patient a non-transmitter of the disease.
Deepak Kapur, Head of the Rotary Clubs Alliance for Leprosy Control underscored the importance of non-governmental alliances to create awareness about the disease and its symptoms; training medical and para-medical personnel to spot the disease; provide palliative care, along with providing vocational training to those suffering from it to enable them to earn a livelihood.
