Leprosy should be monitored closely, say volunteers
There are no vaccines to prevent the disease, as it doesn't affect animals.
Chennai: On the occasion of World Leprosy Eradication day on Saturday, people associated with leprosy eradication have demanded a continuous monitoring programme to curb the growth of the disease.
Door-to-door survey has been stopped after declaring the disease as ‘eliminated’ in 2005, which according to volunteers has accentuated the prevalence of the disease.
Though statistics from the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) reveals a minimum of 0.38/10000 people in Tamil Nadu, experts have a different tale. A volunteer of Ramakrishna Math, R. Siva said the cases actually went up post 2005. “How can the disease be declared as eliminated when there is no curative treatment.” he asked.
An engineering student, C. Veera (name changed), 25, has been cooking up stories to conceal his leprosy which affected him five years ago. “I say it was due to accident. Sometimes, I say it is an allergy,” said Veera, who feels that the disease has taken away his happiness. “It will make my life tough as people would resent me,” he said in a low tone.
His feeble legs with the affected right toe drained away his mental strength along with physical stability. Veera’s tale is a drop in the ocean of many leprosy-afflicted people who would never admit their condition, courtesy the social stigma. The disease, which is considered as eradicated in the country, affects over one-and-a-half lakh people every year, with children among the majority, said Tamil Nadu public health officials.
Wrapping her hands with a duppatta, R. Jenni (name changed), a leprosy afflicted person steps out of house after five months. “It is better to stay in isolation rather than being probed by my neighbours,” she lamented.
An emotional Jenni describes about her husband’s physical abuse and the societal ill treatment. “I request doctors to find a preventive therapy.”
R. Srinivasan, a volunteer serving the leprosy affected for the past 36 years said many cases often go unreported due to ignorance and myths. “As there is no onset of symptoms, many hit the hospitals only after losing sensation. Lack of health care centres adds to their plight,” he said.