Odisha declares leprosy a reportable disease
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Friday declared leprosy a reportable disease in the state and asked hospitals and persons dealing with diagnosis and treatment, institutions imparting medical education and providing diagnostic services to report all cases to the respective district health authorities.
Leprosy is an infectious disease and a major public health concern in the state as it leads to physical deformity and morbidity if the patient is not treated early. The communicable disease is also associated with stigma and discrimination. Even as India has eliminated leprosy according to the WHO criterion (less than one case per 10,000 population at the national level), it remains endemic in some states including Odisha, where prevalence is greater than one.
In a notification, the Health and Family Welfare department has directed all persons dealing with diagnosis, treatment and follow-up in hospitals (private or government), institutions imparting medical education and providing diagnostic services and any other healthcare relating to leprosy to mandatorily report all diagnosed cases to their respective chief district medical and public health officer (CDM&PHO) or ADPHO (leprosy) within two weeks. The direction came as it was noticed that the leprosy registry was not being maintained properly at private health facilities and some of the leprosy cases were remaining unreported, said sources.
Health Secretary Shalini Pandit said all diagnosed leprosy cases should be reported to the appropriate authority for early diagnosis and complete treatment of the disease. Leprosy is a curable disease with a full course of multi-drug therapy (MDT) and early diagnosis and complete treatment of leprosy is the cornerstone of leprosy prevention and control strategy, she said.As many as 7,197 new leprosy cases, including the highest 601 from Balangir, 592 from Bargarh, 560 from Mayurbhanj and 528 from Ganjam, have been detected in the state in 2022-23.
New beginning
Leprosy remains endemic in some states including Odisha, where prevalence is greater than 1
7,197 new cases, including 601 from Balangir have been detected in the state in 2022-23