Health experts have stressed the need for taking a comprehensive effort to detect all the leprosy cases early as the disease is curable, aiming to build a leprosy-free society. They said importance should be given on creating mass awareness about the signs and symptoms of leprosy and ensuring treatment for all leprosy patients free of cost. Talking to the news agency Dr Afsar Siddiqui, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sex, Skin and Venereal Diseases in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said leprosy mainly affects the skin and superficial segments of peripheral nerves, but can affect any tissue except brain and spinal cord.
However, it is not a hereditary disease, he identically mentioned. Describing the major signs and symptoms of leprosy, he said the late case diagnosis, little knowledge among community people, social stigma and limited mental health services are the major challenges towards eradication of the disease. As leprosy service providers are limited in the country, the physician said, authorities concerned should extend cooperation towards the existing organisations giving services to leprosy patients and encourage new doctors to work for the leprosy patients.
Social awareness must be created so that no leprosy patient remains out of treatment since the untreated cases are the only source of more infection, Dr Afsar said. He said the major signs and symptoms of leprosy are hypo-pigmented anesthetic skin patch, nodules under the skin and thickening of earlobe, depressed nose, painless ulcer, numbness of fingers or claw fingers, foot drop due to damage of lateral palatal nerve and lagophthalmos due to facial nerve damage.
Leprosy expert Dr Siddiqui emphasized that the illness is not infectious. “People in villages are superstitious and ignorant. They consider leprosy a curse but it isn’t,” he said.
Apart from the government agencies, Damien Foundation Bangladesh is implementing ‘Rajshahi Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Project’ in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to address leprosy disease in the country.
The project is being implemented at 25 upazilas in three districts — Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj – covering around 70 lakh people.
In last 2019, 138 new leprosy cases have been detected among 4,387 suspected ones in the project-covering areas, said Arif Iftekhar Mannan, Director of the project.
He said the region has made significant progress in leprosy control over the last few decades, but still a large number of patients remain undiagnosed due to lack of awareness. “Good treatment can completely cure a leper within one year,” he added.
Dr Abdus Sobhan, former divisional director of Health Directorate, said Bangladesh has made marked progress in the control of leprosy by achieving its elimination goal.
Voluntary groups joined the campaign and there are now a total of 625 leprosy treatment facilities across the country. Their widespread accessibility and the new multi-drug therapies prescribed by WHO have helped reduce the disease dramatically.
Dr Sobhan, however, said, collaborative efforts and adequate resources from the higher authorities concerned, including the donor agencies, are needed to achieve the total elimination of the disease.