Checking the resurgence of leprosy in Nigeria

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Medical experts have renewed calls for more pragmatic approach to checking the resurgence of leprosy, the development they describe as worrisome, especially in developing countries.

They call the attention of all stakeholders in the health sector to a recent report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which indicates that no fewer than 180,000 people worldwide are infected with leprosy, mostly in Africa and Asia.

In the same vein, the Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN), observes that no fewer than 3,000 fresh cases of leprosy are recorded yearly in Nigeria and discrimination against sufferers remains high.

Speaking at a workshop in Abuja recently, Mr Terver Anyor, the Funds Development Manager of TLMN, said WHO rated Nigeria as high burden nation, recording more than 1,000 new cases of the disease yearly.

“The way to eradicate leprosy is by finding and treating every leprosy case discovered but the biggest problem is how to find them.

“Some sufferers hide due to lack of awareness or fear of stigma and discrimination, resulting in high number of cases of the disease.

“There is need for awareness. The last leprosy hospital in Sweden closed in 1948. It can also be eradicated in Nigeria,’’ he said.

The manager observed that the mission faced challenges, including low political commitment to leprosy eradication programme in the fight against “the causes and consequences of the disease’’ in some parts of the country.

“Weak referral system, lack of expertise in diagnosis and treatment, lack of awareness and principally, stigma and discrimination, among others, impede the fight against the disease in the country,’’ he observed.

Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Kunden Deyin, Commissioner for Health in Plateau, said that the state recorded 49 new cases of leprosy with children accounting for two per cent of it in 2015.

To check the prevalence in children, the commissioner said the state government had begun the training of health workers to promptly detect the disease.

“Besides, the state government had begun effective leprosy awareness campaign and conducted contact examinations in the various healthcare facilities for free treatment.

“Leprosy is an airborne disease that mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves and the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract.

“Leprosy is curable with a multi-drug therapy for the duration of six to 12 months, depending on the severity.

“If not treated, sufferers are prone to nerve function loss which can lead to disabilities in the eyes, hands and feet,’’ he explained.

According to him, early signs include skin patches that are lighter in colour than the normal skin colour and the patches do not itch.

He said other signs were the loss of sensation in the hand and feet, weakness and numbness of the hands and feet.

Medical experts, nonetheless, insist that while the disease is not highly contagious, if someone is repeatedly in contact with nose and mouth droplets of the sufferer, he may contract it.

They opine that leprosy is caused by a slow-growing type of bacteria called Mycobacterium Leprae that primarily affects the skin and the nerves outside the brain as well as the spinal cord.

According to them, leprosy may also strike the eyes and the thin tissue lining the inside of the nose and if left untreated, leading to disability and loss of sensation.

They observe that the disease takes between three and five years for symptoms to appear after coming into contact with the leprosy-causing bacteria while some people do not develop symptoms until 20 years later.

They advise that anyone with a suspicious skin sore should consult a doctor for proper medical laboratory examinations.

Irrespective of this, WHO says Multidrug therapy (MDT) has been made available free of charge to all patients worldwide since 1995.

It insists that the drug provides a simple yet highly effective cure for all types of leprosy and that no fewer than 16 million leprosy patients have been cured with it over the past 20 years.

“Detection of all cases in a community and completion of prescribed treatment using MDT are the basic tenets of the Enhanced Global Strategy for Further Reducing Disease Burden Due to Leprosy,’’ it says.

Leprosy — an infectious chronic disease that targets the nervous system, especially the nerves in the cooler parts of the body; the hands, feet and face — is one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world.

It is causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms and legs, often surrounded by stigma.

The observance of World Leprosy Day is to change the negative attitude to the sufferers of the disease and increase public awareness that leprosy can be easily prevented and cured.

January 30 of every year is dedicated to the World Leprosy Day coinciding with the date which Indian freedom fighter, Mahatma Gandhi’s, was assassinated in 1948.

During his lifetime, Mahatma Gandhi worked tirelessly towards the betterment of people afflicted with leprosy.

Observers opine that leprosy treatment needs to be fully integrated into general health services and there should be effective political commitment from governments at all levels.

All in all, stakeholders hold the belief that stigma associated with the disease remains an obstacle to sufferers’ self-reporting and early treatment.