BHUBANESWAR: The government is all set to launch a fresh drive to detect new leprosy cases in the state from Monday. The move is being made as leprosy continues to be endemic in more than half of the districts in Odisha, despite being eliminated nationally with less than one case per 10,000 population.
The state is detecting more than 500 new cases a month making it one of the few endemic states, where prevalence is greater than one. As per the WHO criterion, leprosy is considered eliminated where the prevalence is less than one case.
The prevalence rate of leprosy in the state was 121.4 per 10,000 population during 1982-83 and came down to 0.65 during 2006-07 due to successful implementation of National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP). The prevalence rate, though, has slowly gone up in the following years to reach 1.24 in 2017-18. At present, at least 21 districts have prevalence rate of more than 1. Only Balasore and Rayagada districts have achieved leprosy-free status.
As many as 8,004 new cases were found in 2014-15, followed by 10,174 cases in 2015-16, 10,045 in 2016-17 and 9,576 in 2017-18 forcing the previous BJD government to set a fresh target to make the state leprosy free by March 2020. But the target is yet to be achieved.
Around 8,396 cases were detected in 2023-24, while in 2022-23 it was 7,197.
The Health and Family Welfare department has decided to conduct the leprosy case detection campaign scrupulously in 176 high endemic blocks of 26 districts. The drive would be conducted by health and ASHA workers through house-to-house visits.
Apart from the intensified awareness through various mediums, departments like School and Mass Education, Panchayati Raj, Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti have been roped in for the fortnight-long leprosy detection campaign.
Joint director (leprosy) Dr KM Kand said a detailed guideline has been sent to the districts directing health officials to conduct the screening meticulously with a mission to report all undetected cases. “District-level leprosy officers have been asked to ensure that all suspects are examined by medical officers for diagnosis and appropriate treatment within 72 hour of identification,” he said.
Caused by the Mycobacterium leprae bacteria, leprosy is classified as paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB). The duration of treatment is six months for PB leprosy and 12 months for MB leprosy. “Leprosy is curable. Early diagnosis and complete treatment are key strategies to reduce the burden. Districts have been asked to complete the drive by the end of the month,” Dr Kand added.
Last year, the state government had 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.