Chennai is among 18 districts in Tamil Nadu where the Central Leprosy Division will roll out a leprosy case detection campaign later this month. The districts were identified for the programme as they had relatively more cases of grade 2 deformity due to leprosy.
The Central Leprosy Division, under its Sparsh Leprosy Elimination Campaign, has directed States to carry out the campaign in high grade 2 deformity districts. The aim was to reduce the incidence of annual new grade 2 deformity cases to less than one case per million population by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. More than 200 districts were identified across the country, public health officials said.
“These 18 districts had above two cases of grade 2 deformity per million population. Grade 2 deformity means visible deformity in patients with leprosy such as bending of fingers, ulcer in hands and feet, loss of muscle power and loss of sensation in hands and feet, and difficulty in closing eyes,” said S. Mohammed Afzal Ali, Additional Director of Medical and Rural Health Services (Leprosy), Tamil Nadu.
304 cases detected
The State’s present deformity rate was 1.88 per million population. Chennai’s grade 2 deformity rate was 2.20 per million population, he said, adding that out of the 304 new cases detected in 2016-2017 in the city, 17 had grade 2 deformity.
Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kancheepuram, Karur, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tiruvallur, Tiruppur, Trichi, Vellore and Virudhunagar are the other districts identified for the exercise.
“Through this campaign, we will be able to detect hidden cases, and enable early treatment to prevent progress to deformity and control transmission. The stigma and discrimination associated with leprosy can also be brought down,” he said.
Health staff would take up intensive house-to-house survey during October and November. Teams would also conduct screening for school children, while at least three to five skin camps have been planned in urban areas. “In Chennai, we are planning to take up more Information Education and Communication activities and more number of skin camps. We will also rope in NGOs,” said G. Sridevi, deputy director (Leprosy), Chennai.
D. Kanimozhi, deputy director (Leprosy), Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, said early intervention helped patients with deformities. “We had six cases of grade 2 deformity in Tiruvallur during 2016-2017. Two of them were in the early stages and we achieved 100% reversal through physiotherapy and medical management. Another two patients underwent reconstructive surgery, while the remaining two are on treatment,” she said.