COIMBATORE: As part of the total elimination of leprosy, members of the district health department have decided to start a door-to-door Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) in Anaimalai and Sulur which is identified as leprosy hotspot.
This initiative was taken as a significant number of adult cases were identified in the surroundings of Periyapothu village in Anaimalai and children cases in the surroundings of Somanur in Sulur block.
Dr P Sivakumari, deputy director of medical services (leprosy), Coimbatore, said, “Compared to other districts, the number of leprosy cases in Coimbatore is very low. However, when we are working towards complete elimination of leprosy by 2027, we have to address the hidden new leprosy case. During a recent health checkup, new cases were detected in Sulur and Anaimalai. After confirming them, we initiated the intensive doorstep checkups in these localities as part of the state-wide drive between February 13 and 28.”
She added that they have formed 223 teams comprising volunteers, college students, ASHA workers, DBC workers, mobile teams from the health department, and others. Each team would have two people and they would visit every residence and check if there is anyone with the symptoms.
“We usually consider leprosy in two types - one is less infection which could be found within six months and another is ‘more infection’ which has a history of more than a year. Likewise, in Coimbatore, we identified 74 cases in 2023-24 and 62 cases in the last 10 months since April 2024. Identifying new and hidden cases is part of our work in which the spread among children is a sensitive indicator. This drive focuses on ‘Ending Stigma and Embracing the dignity’ of people affected by leprosy and also ensuring the proper treatment of them. Hence people should cooperate for the drive.”