Maharashtra finds 3.6 lakh suspected leprosy cases in 17 days

PUNE: The Maharashtra government has detected over 3.59 lakh suspected and 6,200 confirmed leprosy cases from September 13 to 30 after screening over eight crore people during a special drive launched last month.
Though the state had reported over 12,000 leprosy cases between June and September, the special drive helped it identify the hidden and suspected infections. An official privy to the details of the drive said Maharashtra's prevalence rate, 0.89, for 2021-22 was twice that of the country's 0.45. "This was because of the increased surveillance in the state," the official said.
The screening and surveillance of leprosy, among other diseases, was affected during the two years of Covid pandemic, the official said. With Covid cases going down, the official said, the state was now back to screening the general population for contagious diseases to offer the best possible treatment and break the transmission chain.
"The top three districts in Maharashtra with the highest number of confirmed cases were Chandrapur (1,059), followed by Palghar (936) and Jalgaon (685)," said Dr Ramji Adkekar, assistant director health services, state public health department.
In 2005, the prevalence of leprosy cases in India had gone down to one in 10,000 people and the country achieved the national elimination target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Leprosy cases suddenly began to rise after 2016 and the number of districts with prevalence between one and two among 10,000 people was 76, revealed the peer-reviewed Indian Dermatology Journal article published in 2018.
Maharashtra finds 3.6 lakh suspected & 6,200 confirmed leprosy cases in 17 days
The prevalence rate of leprosy is the number of cases detected among 10,000 people screened. Similarly, the number of districts with prevalence between more than two and five per 10,000 population was 39. The article stated that the number of districts with prevalence between five and 10 were two.
Dr Adkekar said, "Between April and September, we could report 12,540 new leprosy cases. Of these, 6,231 were identified between September 13 and September 30. We could find all these cases due to our increased surveillance within 17 days of the special drive. The prevalence rate of Maharashtra is high because the state is detecting more leprosy cases."
He said, "We need to detect all hidden cases in the community, bring them under treatment and break the chain of transmission. This is the only way to ensure that they no longer remain infectious or do not transmit leprosy. In terms of detection of the cases, India was declared leprosy elimination by 2005. But we are still reporting cases above the elimination level."
Health department data revealed that during the two years of Covid pandemic, the number of confirmed leprosy cases had dropped - 12,438 in 2020-21 and 14,520 in 2021-22. "But due to the special drive this year, we could detect 12,540 confirmed cases between April and September and the numbers are likely to rise as the drive continues in Mumbai and parts of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)," Dr Adkekar said.
When asked if confinement and lack of mobility during the Covid pandemic led to the spread of leprosy, Dr Adkekar said, "This can be a subject of detailed study, which could be taken up by a medical college or research organisation."
Dr Vivek V Pai, director at Bombay Leprosy project that has been working for leprosy patients' treatment for 46 years, said, "Surveillance of people suffering from leprosy, just like other patients affected with communicable diseases, had definitely taken a back-seat during the pandemic. Detection level of leprosy cases had dropped by about 40-45%. Treatment services were also affected, as mobility became an issue during the pandemic-induced lockdown."
He said, "The special detection drive is still going on in Mumbai and Thane. We will get to know the actual numbers by this month-end. It is important to detect the hidden cases."