Leprosy Mailing List – February 22, 2014
Ref.: LML) Hazards of setting targets to eliminate disease: lessons from the leprosy elimination campaign
From: Salvatore Noto, Bergamo, Italy
Dear Pieter,
Thank you to Dr Daumerie for his message (LML February 21, 2014) and attached paper but, it is impossible to agree with him. He actually uses his authority to try to convince others of his ideas. He has been involved in implementing the WHO leprosy policy and he says it is good. The opposite is true; clinical skills have been forgotten in the field, where they are needed. Leprosy patients suffering of reactions, neuritis, nerve damage and their sequelae are given blister packs and sent home with no attention to their eyes, hands, feet and peripheral nerves; in other words with no proper clinical management.
The 1991 WHO elimination strategy was scientifically wrong. They were wrong with the definition, the indicator and the bench mark (1 in 10,000). We now use incidence or new cases as indicator. The increasing first and, the decline of the leprosy cases later on, was due to the enormous commitment of all involved in leprosy activities.
The "WHO target set for 2020 of reducing the number of new leprosy cases with grade-2 disability to less than one case per million population" is one more sign that he has the power and force of impose his wrong ideas.
Early detection and timely treatment of leprosy and its complications was and, still is the target.
Yours sincerely,
Salvatore
Bergamo, Italy
LML - S Deepak, B Naafs, S Noto and P Schreuder
LML blog link: http://leprosymailinglist.blogspot.it/
Contact: Dr Pieter Schreuder << editorlml@gmail.com
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