World Leprosy Day is observed on the last Sunday of January each year to increase the public awareness of Leprosy or Hansen's Disease. This date was chosen by French humanitarian Raoul Follereau as a tribute to the life of Mahatma Gandhi who had compassion for people afflicted with leprosy.
Leprosy was renamed Hansen’s disease after Norwegian scientist Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, who in 1873 discovered the slow-growing bacterium now known as Mycobacterium leprae as the cause of the illness. It is difficult to catch, and it can take many years to develop symptoms of the disease following an infection. However, people who catch the disease can easily be cured with antibiotics.
Burden of Hansen's Disease
Around the world:
- The number of new cases reported globally to World Health Organization (WHO)external icon in 2019 was more than 200,000.
- Close to 15,000 children were diagnosed with Hansen’s disease in 2019, more than 40 a day.
- An estimated 2 to 3 million people are living with Hansen’s disease-related disabilities globally.
- In 2019, the countries with the highest number of new diagnoses were India, Brazil, and Indonesia.
- Over half of all new cases of Hansen’s disease are diagnosed in India, which remains home to a third of the world’s poor, a group disproportionately affected by the disease.
- The number of leprosy patients is increasing in Nepal even after declaration of elimination in 2010.
- Prevalence at the time of declaration of elimination was 0.77/10,000 in 2010 and the prevalence reported in 2017/18 has increased to 0.99/10,000 according to statistics of Department of health services (DoHS) Nepal.
- In all the reports published since 2010, it is seen that detection of multibacillary cases outnumbers paucibacillary cases and remained above 50%
- Though targeted to be reduced the incidence of new case & prevalence rate but it is increased from 0.77 to 0.79, 0.84, 0.82 and 0.83 respectively during FY 066/67 – 070/71 as well as more than 3000 new cases are detecting each year.
Challenges of Hansen's Disease
Hansen’s disease mainly affects people in resource-limited countries, especially those who live in crowded conditions. Many have difficulty accessing health care due to high costs of going to the doctor and long distances to reach providers and clinics familiar with Hansen’s disease. Because of this, many of those affected don’t complete treatment or don’t receive it at all, even though the WHO has a program that provides free treatment. Due the continued stigma against people with Hansen’s disease, they may not seek help when first symptoms appear, causing delay in diagnosis and development of disabilities.
Girls and women affected by Hansen’s disease face the added issue of gender and social discrimination, which may also delay detection of the disease. In some countries, the law allows a person to legally divorce a spouse because they are affected by the disease. Unfortunately, this may leave many women destitute, homeless, and unable to care for their children.
Many people living with Hansen’s disease are unable to work due to disability caused by the disease or may face stigma that prevents them from working.
The good news is that Hansen’s disease is curable with antibiotics. Education and improving access to basic health services for all are keys to successful elimination of stigma and disability associated with the illness.
Leprosy Day 2021 Theme
"Beat Leprosy, End Stigma and Advocate for Mental Well-Being"
This year, we unite around one goal, which is to Beat Leprosy. This World Leprosy Day, we invite the international community to help spread the word that Leprosy Is Curable, join in the fight to End Stigma, and advocate for the Mental Wellbeing of persons who have experienced leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases.