In a major achievement in the health sector, India has become the first country in the world to get the Yaws-free certificate by the WHO. The certificate came quite late though as no case of yaws, a bacterial infectious disease, had been reported from the country for the last one decade.
This is the third major momentous public health feat for India, which was declared polio-free two years ago, elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus early this year and now becoming free from Yaws, a chronic bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum subsp Pertenue.
Poor socio-economic conditions facilitate the spread of yaws. A senior official in the Ministry said that they want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce this historic feat at an event planned to be held soon.
A WHO team had last year visited to tribal areas in in Khammam, Phulbani, Koraput, Mayurbhanj and Chandrapur besides a few others which have reported yaws in the past. But they did not find any evidence of the transmission of the disease among children.
Terming it a major milestone, SK Jain, from Department of Parasitic Diseases of the NCDC, said, India is the first nation in the world to get such a prestigious tag.
“Currently, at least 13 countries are reporting the disease to the WHO. The WHO roadmap targeted yaws for eradication by 2020 but India has achieved this landmark much earlier. The final cases were reported in 2003,” he added.
Jain said following the successful implementation of the yaws Eradication Programme (YEP) India had declared eradication of the disease in 2006 itself. It had sought WHO certification in 2011. But, it had to wait in the absence of clear guidelines on the roadmap for eradication and elimination of the disease from the WHO on the eradication of the yaws.
Humans are the main reservoir of infection and children bear the brunt of the disease. 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.