The truth about leprosy

As part of the Government Employees Medical Scheme's (GEMS) ongoing effort to educate our members and future members on a range of healthcare topics, we would like to provide you with some valuable information about World Leprosy Day.

World Leprosy Day is earmarked internationally on 31 January every year to enhance public awareness about leprosy. Also known as Hansen's Disease, leprosy was for many years misunderstood by medical professionals and societies alike.

In the past, it affected the lives of millions, casting them into a shadow of shame, isolation and rejection. Fortunately, the medical position on leprosy has had a complete turnaround in recent years and it is now commonly accepted that the disease is not highly infectious and can be effectively treated.

The cause of the illness is from a slow-growing bacterial infection that affects the skin and nerves. If left untreated, the disease becomes so severe that permanent damage is done to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes, leaving the sufferer looking deformed.

This once rampant disease has now been contained with the use of Multidrug Therapy (MDT), which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided for free to all leprosy patients worldwide since 1995. The MDT treatment is taken in six to 12 month courses and conveniently comes in monthly calendar blister packs. The treatment is highly effective and there is no known resistance to it. The WHO estimates that four million people have been prevented from suffering leprosy related disabilities and over the last 20 years 14 million have been cured, thanks to MDT treatment.

Leprosy is mildly infectious and can only be contracted from contact with droplets of fluid from the nose and/or mouth of untreated, severely infected patients. However, after the first dose of MDT, patients are no longer infectious.

Between 1991 and 2000, WHO achieved its goal of reducing prevalence of the disease by 90% worldwide. However, pockets of endemicity still exist in parts of Angola, Brazil, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, Tanzania and India, where leper colonies can still be found.

WHO remains dedicated to the fight against this debilitating disease. It advocates that the only way to conquer leprosy is by changing the negative, stigmatised perception that still dominates society's opinion so that those who are infected can feel free to come forward and seek help without the fear of being ostracised by the community.

WHO's Enhanced Global Strategy for Further Reducing the Disease Burden Due to Leprosy, to run from 2011 to 2015, states that: "Constant efforts should be made to ensure that discriminatory, derogatory or undignified references to persons affected by leprosy are avoided altogether."

Assist those suffering from this disease by putting a stop to negative behaviour and commentary around leprosy. Join the positive movement towards a society where people with leprosy can receive the treatment that they need and contribute to our communities.

For any GEMS member queries, please contact the GEMS Call Centre on 0860 00 4367 or visit our website at www.gems.gov.za. GEMS will assist you in every way possible to ensure your family's health and wellbeing.

Sources:
Leprosy Today - World Health Organisation - www.who.int
World Leprosy Day - The ILEP Federation - www.ilep.org.uk
Guideline for Leprosy Control in South Africa - The Department of Health - www.doh.gov.za
About Leprosy - The Leprosy Mission - www.leprosymission.co.za