Though India eradicated Yaws (a chronic bacterial infectious disease) 10 years ago, it will have to wait for some time to get the eradication certificate from the World Health Organisation.
A senior official in the Union Health Ministry said that there are no clear guidelines from the WHO on the eradication of the disease. He said, “The Ministry has already approached the world health body but as it is still working out on the guidelines on the roadmap for eradication and elimination of the disease, we have no option but to wait for its finalisation.”
Yaws is a chronic bacterial infection caused by bacteria Treponema pallidum. The disease is found primarily in poor communities in warm, humid and forest areas of Africa, Asia, latin America and the Pacific. Poor socio-economic conditions facilitate the spread of yaws.
Humans are the main reservoir of infection and children bear the brunt of the disease. Yaws clinically presents as lesions of the skin, bone and cartilage. Without treatment, it can lead to gross deformities and disabilities.
The disease was first noticed in India in the 49 tribal districts of 10 States, particularly Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. It is transmitted primarily through skin contact with an infected person. If left untreated, multiple lesions appear all over the body, leading to chronic disfigurement and disability. The final cases were reported in 2003. After three consecutive years when no case was registered, India declared elimination of yaws in 2006. Upto 2011, no case was reported and careful serological surveys have revealed no evidence of transmission of yaws, said the official.
The move to approach the WHO followed recommendations from two independent teams of experts who last year, in two phases, visited 16 districts of all 10 states covered under the Yaws Eradication Programme launched in 1996-97, the official said. “Each team comprised an independent expert, a representative from the WHO country office, an officer from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a state/district representative and a dermatologist from the district.
“The teams verified cases and reviewed results from sero-surveys carried out at field level. The teams recommended that as no new case had been detected in the past 10 years despite continuous active search and monthly reporting from health facilities and no sero-positivity in 1 to 5-year-old kids, the country should request for an eradication certification from the WHO,” he added.