The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday reminded the member nations not to be complacent in view of declining new leprosy cases, which it asserted were not due to decrease in transmission of the disease, but because of cases remaining undetected amid covid-related disruptions.
Against this backdrop, it has asked the countries to urgently address gaps in leprosy services which were affected due to Covid-19 pandemic. “Act Now. End Leprosy.” is this year’s theme for World Leprosy Day being observed on Sunday.
“Leprosy is 100% curable when detected early. Yet, today, in addition to covid-19 related challenges, stigma and discrimination- both institutionalized and informal, continue to impede prompt diagnosis and treatment and facilitate onward spread of leprosy. This has to change,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South-East Asia.
She pointed out that over the past decade, strong progress was achieved in several key areas of leprosy prevention, treatment, and control globally, with new cases among children reduced by 27% between 2010 and 2019, visible deformities at time of diagnosis reduced by 23% between 2014 and 2019 and the rate of new cases among children reduced to 7.6 per million children as opposed to 9.8 in 2014.
However, in 2021, 140,000 new leprosy cases were reported, with 95 per cent of new cases coming from the 23 global priority countries. Of these, 6 per cent were diagnosed with visible deformities or grade-2 disabilities (G2D). Over 6 per cent of new cases were children under the age of 15, with 368 being diagnosed with grade-2 disabilities, she said.
Even as a 10 per cent increase in new cases was reported in 2021 against 2020, the reported cases were still 30% lower than in 2019. Reportedly, this is not because of a decrease in transmission, but due to cases remaining undetected amid covid-related disruptions.
“Countries must continue to urgently restore leprosy services, with a focus on expanding single dose rifampicin chemoprophylaxis, intensifying active case finding, and ensuring prompt diagnosis and treatment with multidrug therapy,” added Dr Khetrapal Singh.
The global health official also stressed on ensuring increased access for persons affected by leprosy and their families to mental health care as up to 50% of those affected face psychiatric morbidities such as depression, anxiety disorders and suicide attempts.