Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district on Sunday launched a 'Sparsh Leprosy Public Awareness Fortnight' to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and to spread awareness about leprosy. It will conclude on February 13.
‘Anti-Leprosy Day’ is observed on January 30 to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom.
Launching the drive, Dr Feroze Khan, Superintendent, Government Leprosy Centre, Pandri, Raipur, said superstition in our society makes people view leprosy as a sin accruing from previous birth.
People keeping the disease under cover due to fear of being ostracized from the society actually spread the disease. People need to understand that leprosy is a curable disease and if delayed it can lead to disability and deformity in the affected organs, he said.
He said being a bacterial disease, it does not spread through touch. But there is a need for early detection and cure of the patient. It is the reason that such awareness events and door-to-door detection events are organized.
District Leprosy Officer Dr. Ashish Sharma said all the members present were administered a pledge that they will not discriminate against any leprosy patient and assist in ensuring proper treatment.
