Bangladesh observed World Leprosy Day 2014 yesterday with processions and discussion meetings to create awareness about the infectious but curable disease in line with this year’s theme, “Joining forces: Accelerating progress”.
Dr Ashek Hossain, director of leprosy at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told the Dhaka Tribune that Bangladesh was now at a stage to eradicate leprosy.
A country is considered at the eliminating stage if it is able to keep the leprosy prevalence rate below one in 10,000, Hossain said.
The director also said eight non-government organisations were working to eliminate the age-old disease from the country.
DGHS, along with different private oganisations, arranged a programme to mark the day at a Catholic church in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.
In Barisal, the day was observed with a call to raise awareness of leprosy as a 21st century disease to help transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.
According our Barisal correspondent, the district civil surgeon’s office brought out a procession from the Ashwini Kumar Hall to the Oxford Mission School and held a discussion meeting at the school premises.
Dr ATM Mizanur Rahman, Barisal district civil surgeon, presided, while Salma Begum and Fakhrul Islam, leprosy eradication project officials at the civil surgeon’s office, addressed the meeting.
The speakers said leprosy remains an ignored health problem to this day as the disease usually gets detected at an advanced stage, mostly due to lack of awareness about its early symptoms.
Hence, they said, there was a need for speedy and accurate diagnostic tests that can detect the disease in the early stages, especially in remote areas.
The debilitating disease affects the nervous system, causing loss of sensation. As initial symptoms of the disease are often misleading, detection of thickened and enlarged nerves could help in its early diagnosis, they observed.
Nowadays, the diagnosis and treatment of the disease is easy, and most endemic countries are striving to fully integrate leprosy care into existing general health services.
Such services were especially important for underserved and marginalised communities, who are most at risk from the disease, the speakers noted.
The last Sunday of January is dedicated to disseminating information about the disease that can be easily prevented and cured.