Nepal could be inching towards a leprosy resurgence, a decade after it declared elimination of the disease. The situation in Nepal mirrors that of its neighbour to the south. India, too, declared eradication of leprosy. Yet, in recent years, the disease has displayed symptoms of a resurgence. The 2017-18 period saw 90,709 leprosy cases reported […]
Leprosy
Concern as cases of leprosy spike
India may have officially eliminated leprosy in 2005. However, the battle against the disease is far from over. A spike in the number of new infections has furthered alarm that the disease may be showing signs of a resurgence in India. 90,709 cases of leprosy were recorded in the 2017-18 period, statistics suggest. This is […]
Supreme Court seeks answers on treatment of leprosy patients
The Supreme Court is seeking answers from the Centre about the treatment of leprosy patients and India’s progress against the disease. The SC, responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (VCLP), has directed the Centre to enact a central law barring discrimination against leprosy patients. It is […]
Disease elimination and the dangers of resurgence
Eliminating a disease is undoubtedly a positive achievement, typically signalling that a country is one step closer towards ridding itself of said disease entirely. However, this news brings with it the dangers of policymakers and populations becoming complacent – allowing for a potential resurgence. The qualification for the classification of elimination is a reduction of […]
Isolation of those afflicted with leprosy. Remnants of archaic laws to blame?
Leprosy will be eradicated from India in 2018, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda announced earlier this year. Could discrimination threaten achievement of this goal? Archaic laws dating to 1898 regarding the treatment of those suffering from leprosy were in effect until 2016. After this a bill was passed seeking to eradicate social stigma surrounding […]
Budget 2017: Leprosy eradication
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has set out in the 2017 budget speech an aim to eradicate leprosy from India by 2018. Through the increased health budget, drives are taking place in order to “not just eliminate [the disease], but eradicate it as well” says the Times of India. This is by no means a new […]
Leprosy vaccine unveiled in India
In recent months, researchers in India have made strides towards developing mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) – the world’s first leprosy vaccine. The vaccine was developed by founder-director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII) Professor Gursaran Prasad Talwar and has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It has been suggested that […]