With detection of over 8,800 new cases of leprosy in Chhattisgarh, there is a fear that the disease is spreading its tentacles across the State and it would be difficult for it to achieve level of elimination as soon as possible.
With 8847 new cases of leprosy by March 2015, Chhattisgarh has recorded Annual New Case Detection Rate (ANCDR) of 31.93 per 100,000 population, whereas 7.03 per 100,000 population is national ANCDR.
As per data of National leprosy Eradication Programme (NlEP), 8847 new cases were detected in Chhattisgarh. Of total cases, around 4064 cases of leprosy were detected with Paucibacillary and 4783 with Multibacillary. With prevalence rate of 2.14 per 10000 population, Chhattisgarh is still struggling to achieve the level of leprosy elimination whereas 34 States/Union Territories of India have achieved the level of elimination.
Notably, as many as 5941 cases of leprosy in Chhattisgarh were already on record which contributes 6.69 percent to the national record.
“The Government is frequently taking up special campaign across the State. A campaign will also be carried out in May and June this year. leprosy could only be eliminated by detection followed by treatment so the department will be launching a door-to-door survey in rural as well as other required regions for detection of leprosy patients. Every year, the campaign will be launched in two phases so that more and more cases are detected and treated,” stated Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department Vikash Sheel.
Aiming to achieve the level of elimination, one government institution and one NGO have been recognized for carrying out reconstructive surgery to correct disability in leprosy affected person.
Under NlEP, around 159 reconstructive surgeries were carried out by the government institution across Chhattisgarh in 2014-15 and 12 reconstructive surgeries were undertaken by NGOs, highlights NlEP.
Notably, 2883 reconstructive surgeries were carried out by 109 recognized institutions (1297 surgeries by 57 Government and 1586 surgeries by 52 NGOs) in the country during 2014-15.
A total of 125785 new cases were detected across the nation during the year 2014-15, which gives Annual New Case Detection Rate (ANCDR) of 9.73 per 100,000 population, showcasing decline in leprosy cases as compare to previous year. By March 2015, around 88833 cases are on record, taking the country’s leprosy prevalence rate to 0.69 per 10,000 population. 34 States/ UTs had already achieved the level of elimination with leprosy prevalence rate less than 1 case per 10,000 population.
The State/UTs achieved level of elimination are Nagaland, Haryana, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, Punjab, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Rajasthan, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Daman & Diu, A & N Islands, Puducherry , Gujarat, Karnataka, lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra , Goa, Odisha , Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Telangana, Chandigarh and Bihar.