Fw: Ref.: (LML) Declaring Leprosy as a Notifiable disease across India

 

 

Leprosy Mailing List – May 29,  2025

 

Ref.:  (LML)  Declaring Leprosy as a Notifiable disease across India

From: Joseph N. Chukwu, Enugu, Nigeria.

 

 

'Yes, leprosy was a notifiable disease in Jordan before the World Health Organisation (WHO) verified its elimination last year, In fact Jordan has not reported any new, locally acquired (autochthonous) cases of leprosy for over two decades. The WHO's verification of leprosy elimination in Jordan signifies the end of a period where leprosy was a notifiable disease in the country.

 

Dear Pieter,

The above statement was Google's response to my query: 'was leprosy a notifiable disease in Jordan before WHO verified that Jordan had eliminated leprosy last year'.

The backdrop to all this was of course your recent publication in LML of a communication by our distinguished colleague Prof. P. Narasimha (President of the International Leprosy Association) of the important news that the government of India has declared leprosy a notifiable disease nationwide (Ref: LML May 24, 2025 – Declaring Leprosy as a notifiable disease across India).

According to the communication, this order states, among other things, that 'reporting of all diagnosed cases of leprosy to the district leprosy officer or Chief Medical Officer of the respective district should be mandatory'. It goes on, 'in order to achieve the objective of leprosy-free status in a region, it is imperative that every new detected case of leprosy is reported promptly.'

I write to applaud the government of India for this intervention. The timing could not have been more auspicious, coming less than two months before the upcoming 22^nd. International leprosy Congress in Bali, Indonesia.

I urge all leprosy-endemic countries, especially those targeting elimination of the disease, to follow the Indian example without delay.

If conscientiously implemented, the intervention has the potential to contribute to heightened awareness especially among private-sector clinicians, as well as improved case notification and surveillance.

The urgent need to make leprosy a notifiable disease in leprosy-endemic countries should be one of the take-home messages of the upcoming 22^nd. International Leprosy Congress in Bali.

The leaderships of the International Leprosy Association (ILA) and the International Federation of anti-leprosy associations (ILEP) should use their well-established global networks to lead the advocacy needed to promote the cause.

 

Thank you very much Pieter, for the good work you and your team continue to do on behalf of all of us.

 

Joseph N. Chukwu

Enugu, Nigeria.

________________________________________________________________________________

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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