Research needs to be carried out to know the cause for herding of leprosy cases in a few regions of the country, said president-elect of Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) P. Narasimha Rao here on Sunday.
Speaking at the J.N. Shetty Memorial Oration on “Research in leprosy-challenges and opportunities”, Dr. Rao said that transmission of leprosy was more in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, while there were too few cases in Rajasthan. “While there is herding of cases in a few regions, there were hardly any cases in some regions of the country.” Research should be carried out to know whether this was because of weather conditions or any other reason.
Dr. Rao said that leprosy continues to be a health problem. The treatment regime of three medicines now followed is the one administered for the last 38 years ago. While continuing with the present treatment protocol, research should be carried out to find the fourth and fifth drug that will help in tackling leprosy more effectively. Dr. Rao said that nearly 30 % of leprosy victims were those aged above 60, while it was 8 % among children. Doctors should be aware that nerve function impairment was seen not only in new cases of leprosy but also in patients who have undergone treatment, he said.
Dermatologists, Dr. Rao said, were the only ones who were now treating leprosy patients. He asked dermatologists to learn all skills to manage leprosy. “The advantage with dermatologists is that they have rich clinical skill and good grounding of basic science research,” he said. Dr. Rao said that IADVL was now a partner in the National Leprosy Eradication Programme.
