CHENNAI: The State detected 170 new leprosy cases during the Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign (SLAC), held between January 30 and February 13. In 2021, 198 cases were detected during the campaign, officials from the health department said. Of the 170 new cases, 30 were children, and six adults had deformities, said State Leprosy Eradication Programme officials, adding that two cases were detected in Chennai.
As part of SLAC, the officials conducted screening camps and special skin camps in various places. Awareness programmes were also held at bus stops, railway stations, markets, and other crowded places, the officials said. In Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram districts, screening was conducted in refugee camps too.
State leprosy officer Dr S Amutha said people with deformities will be treated, if necessary through surgery, and people with leprosy and their families will be rehabilitated. “We plan to rehabilitate at least one family per block, and provide them medical, educational, and employment support. We may rope in an NGO to set up a small business for people affected by leprosy and their families,” she explained. The prevalence of leprosy in Tamil Nadu is just 0.23 per 10,000 people, and a lot was achieved by raising awareness, Amutha said.
In Chennai alone, more than 500 activities were conducted as part of SLAC, said Dr V Dharmalingam, Deputy Director of Medical Services (Leprosy), Chennai district. Though field work was affected amid the pandemic, officials have now resumed awareness and screening activities in full swing.
The number of leprosy cases detected in Tamil Nadu fell from 4,252 in 2019-2020 to 1,769 in 2020-2021, which is a 58.3 per cent drop from the pre-Covid level in 2019-2020, as per State and National Leprosy Eradication Programme data.
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