At least 500 new patients of Leprosy are reported from all over the country, however it is believed that there are more than 20,000 patients of Leprosy in the country, who are unaware about the disease.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre, while addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Monday said that World Leprosy Day is celebrated all over the world, which brings about the feeling of togetherness and love with patients affected by Leprosy.
He said that because of the visible signs of leprosy it has been grossly misunderstood over the generations. "Unlike other diseases, social stigma arising out of fear, ignorance and superstitious beliefs create barriers in detection, treatment and cure of Leprosy," he said.
He said that Leprosy is one of the most dreaded disease world over, and is now on the defeat in Pakistan. "In 1996, we had controlled the disease all over the country, including Azad Kashmir and northern areas and Leprosy now is no more a public health problem," he said. He said that patients fearing rejection and isolation hide the disease when infected. "There is a need for change of thinking in the attitude of communities to encourage not stigmatising the patients," he said.
He said that today, leprosy can be fully cured. Early diagnosis reduce the risk of deformities and disabilities, and the patient will be completely normal. There is also a need for rehabilitation of those who had leprosy and got deformities due to late treatment, so that they take an active part in communities, he said.
He said that leprosy is a chronic infectious disease, caused by a germ called Mycobacterium Leprae (M. Leprosy), which was discovered by Dr A. Hansen, a Norwegian scientist way back in 1873. It is not caused by the curse of gods, as some people believe. "Leprosy is the least infectious among communicable diseases," he said.
He said that leprosy is transmitted from one person to another by a variety of means. Modern science believes transmission of the disease through the air as a major channel adding skin to skin contact for long and sustained period may be necessary to transmit the disease."
He said that Leprosy is of two kinds Paucibacillary (PB) and Multibacillary (MB). In PB cases the bacilli are few in number and therefore, do not pose a public health hazard while in MB cases the bacilli are present in enormous number, and therefore, they can transmit Leprosy to susceptible individuals if the MB patients are not under treatment.
He said that to combat this disease Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC) has been spearheading mass campaigns for over five decades through every media. "Leprosy awareness campaigns were successfully sustained and the efforts continue," he said.
He said that leprosy programme has since long been attending to tuberculosis and eye patients as well. The leprosy control programme with its previous experience in community involvement and its guaranteed mobility is supplementing defaulter tracing, surveillance of contacts, community awareness, recording, reporting and assisting in other areas.
He said that number of patients have radically decreased in recent decades. "These achievements were a result of strong commitment of the leprosy team, close collaboration of the local governments, participation of the community and patients, and of course support from foreign and local friends who contributed to pushing the disease towards elimination.
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