As many as 31,666 ‘hidden’ leprosy cases found in door-to-door survey

As many as 31,666 “hidden” leprosy cases were detected in a door-to-door survey held in September and October across 20 states.

“This has been a massive exercise,” Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry’s Deputy Director General (Leprosy) Anil Kumar told The Indian Express. “We identified 548,884 suspected leprosy cases and zeroed down to 31,666 persons detected with the disease.’’ This included 3,755 paediatric cases. The highest number of children — 494 — with leprosy were identified in Maharashtra. Maharashtra’s Joint Director (Leprosy) Sanjeev Kamble said that they found around 500 children with leprosy in the tribal area of Palghar alone.

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The survey covered approximately 36 crore people and was part of efforts to eradicate the disease. Officials said that polio may have been eradicated but hidden cases of completely curable diseases like leprosy are being detected.

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The survey found highest number of leprosy cases in Bihar (4,526) followed by Odisha (4,399) and Chhattisgarh (2560).

Kumar said that accredited social health activists were picking up leprosy cases by visiting each home in 50 districts, where the disease in endemic. “Picking them up early will help stop the transmission and treat the leprosy case as quickly as possible.’’