THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will soon begin a statewide campaign to detect and eradicate leprosy after the health department diagnosed a good number of the communicable disease in state.
The 14-day campaign, named Leprosy case detection campaign, will begin on December 5. As per the health department, in 2018 as many as 273 people in the state have been diagnosed with the disease, and the treatment process is on. According to K K Shylaja, Minister for Health and Social Justice, leprosy has not been completely wiped out from the state.
“We have received a report that leprosy has been detected from various parts of the state. However, many of these cases are at early stage. Hence, an awareness and eradication campaign is the need of the hour. An early detection programme has begun and a comprehensive treatment will follow to eradicate the disease,” Shylaja said in a press conference. The disease has been detected at eight districts: Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod. Of these, the detection rate is highest in Palakkad district. Leprosy in children has shown a spurt during the last three years.