High case detection of leprosy in Pando, Bolivia

Leprosy Mailing List, June 19th, 2008

Ref.: High case detection of leprosy in Pando, Bolivia
From: Villarreal Olaya M. E., La Paz, Bolivia


Dear Dr Noto,
Thank you very much to Dr Eggens for translating the summary of our paper in English (LML 15th, 06 2008) and, for his comments (LML 17th, 06 2008). Certainly, the detection percentage in Pando is very high, this can explain to you because during the last two decades they had registered per year around 1 to 2 patients. Because the leprosy programme in Pando didn't work, there have never been carried out activities of active search, the reason is the personnel that works in Pando don't have the due training in leprosy and therefore they didn't show interest.

The year 2007-2008 with the cooperation of an ONG COINFA were carried out campaigns of dermatologist attention with the purpose of finding cases of leprosy, and we registered all that are informed in the paper, this organization it had not considered in its budget the follow up of the patients, control of the domiciliary focus neither the disabilities prevention.

For that a great quantity of patients has not continued their treatment, no exist personnel qualified in follow up and lack of economic resources to be able to move to the rural areas where they have registered the cases.

In November arrived to Cobija (Pando) a commission from Brazil headed by the Dr. Wood who is expert in leprosy to verify the realized diagnoses, he congratulated the work that has been carried out.

Bolivia is neighbouring with Brazil in a great extension; the data that were reported until 2005 not showed our true reality, I consider that we should begin to work and to admit our reality, that we have leprosy in Bolivia.
Best regards,
Dra. Maria Esther Villarreal O.
La Paz, Bolivia