PANAJI
Social stigma, which spurs people with symptoms of leprosy to refrain from reporting for tests and treatment, continues to be a major challenge for health officials working to eradicate the physically deforming disease by 2027.
Goa has been logging between 60 and 90 new leprosy cases annually over the last seven years, but what is concerning is that in the last five years, since 2020-21, there have been eight ‘child cases’ and five instances where ‘Grade II disability’ had already set in.
“It is concerning because it indicates that people are still loath to report for leprosy testing and treatment due to the social stigma attached to the disease,” said Dr Cheryl D’Souza, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) at the Directorate of Health Services (DHS).
D’Souza said the disease is caused by a bacterial infection, and the old beliefs about the disease that led to the ostracisation of the infected no longer hold in the modern day and age. “If you have a patch of discolouration of skin anywhere on your body with associated loss of sensation, then you must go to a doctor and seek professional advice,” D’Souza said, adding that awareness campaigns through all health centres, as well as door-to-door campaigns, are at the top of the agenda in their efforts to achieve the zero cases status by 2027, as set by the Union Health Ministry.
In 2018-19, Goa had 92 new leprosy patients, which dropped to 79 new cases the next year (2019-20). It further declined to 64 and 74 new cases in the Covid-hit years of 2020-21 and 2021-22. The figure climbed to 82 in 2022-23 and has plateaued at 70 cases in 2023-24 and 68 cases in 2024-25, DHS data shows.
D’Souza said that once tested, the new patients are initially treated at the Dermatology department of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, and the follow-up is done through the health centre in whose jurisdiction they reside.
“We also then reach out to the contacts of the new patients without revealing their identity to create awareness among them and advise seeking early medical help in case of symptoms,” D’Souza said.
Goa, meanwhile, is already past the leprosy ‘elimination stage,’ where the norm for a State is less than one case for every 10,000 population in a year.
But primary, urban, and community health centres are being pushed to collaborate with panchayats and urban local bodies in conducting leprosy awareness initiatives to overcome the societal stigma, which could otherwise impede Goa’s march to being leprosy-free by 2027.
