KATHMANDU, Sept 6: The government had officially declared the country free of leprosy in 2010, but the number of people infected with the disabling disease is rising every year.
Officials at the Leprosy Control Division (LCD) under Department of Health Services (DoHS) warned that Nepal will lose its status of leprosy-free country if effective measures are not adopted to control the disease immediately.
Leprosy is a contagious disease that affects skin and nerves, causing disfigurement and deformities in severe cases if left untreated.
“We created much hype about eradication of leprosy from the country, but the infection rate has been rising every year,” Dr Basudev Pandey, director at the LCD, said.
He informed that infection rate in Tarai's 15 districts has reached to 0.89 percent. Infection rate was 0.77 percent at the time of the declaration of elimination six years ago. In some districts, infection rate is about three percent.
“Infection rate is below one percent at the national level but if we see the prevalence of disease district-wise it is above three percent in some districts,” informed Dr Pandey. He complained that the National Planning Commission (NPC) has reduced the budget for programs aimed at leprosy control thinking that the disease is eradicated from the country.
“Elimination and eradication imply different meanings and the disease might exist even after a country declares that it has eliminated it,” said Dr Pandey.
According to Dr Pandey, the country will be blacklisted if nation-wide infection rate reaches one percent.
He said that immediate mitigation measures are needed to control further infection. Every year, over 3,000 new people, mainly from Tarai districts get infected from the disease.
Meanwhile, the LCD said that it has been planning to launch a mini leprosy campaign in Banke and Bardiya districts with a view to enhance awareness about the disease among health workers, social mobilizers, teachers and students.
-- Infection rate in 15 Tarai districts has reached 0.89 percent from 0.77 percent in 2010
-- Every year over 3,000 people infected from the disease
-- Proximity with India, where over 130,000 new people are infected every year, considered main reason for the spread of the disease in bordering districts
-- Government pulled the plug on leprosy control funding thinking the disease to be eradicated