A new report published by World Health Organisation (WHO) recently shows that there have been between 200,000 to 300,000 new cases of Leprosy(कुष्ठ रोग) detected globally every year since 2005.
Surprisingly all the new diagnoses made in 2016, two-thirds were from India, including 18,472 children.
"It is a harsh reality that nine out of every 100 new cases diagnosed today are children," said Erwin Cooreman, the Leader of WHO's Global Leprosy Programme in 2018.
Even though the World Health Organisation (WHO) now offers highly effective leprosy treatments free of charge, this stubborn disease just refuses to accept its defeat.
In India, where leprosy is more common, the social stigma is especially great. Here, some believe that leprosy is a form of punishment for sinful acts or immoral behaviour, and this can often lead to social exclusion and family rejection.
India itself still has 700 leper colonies in order to keep these people out of the way.
These stereotypes are hard to shake, and negative attitudes towards the illness have continued to persist, stopping many people from coming forward and getting treated.
This means that people with leprosy are often denied access to markets and educational institutions. These laws might even limit a person's ability to access treatment for the disease itself.
Leprosy is tropical disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, which multiplies very slowly. If left untreated, this infection can creep up on its patients, causing muscle weakness, skin sores, and blindness. It can even damage a person's nerve endings, destroying their ability to feel pain and injury.
Between 2006 and 2015, WHO says the number of people with leprosy that have visible deformities increased by 13 percent, which means the disease is not only continuing to spread, it is also going untreated.
Today, over four million people live with leprosy-related disabilities, and it remains one of the leading causes of long-term nerve damage worldwide.
"The world has the tools, the right medicines and the political will – yet we are falling short of detecting the disease in time, particularly among children."
In fact, it's thought that only half of all leprosy cases are being detected and treated, leaving millions with a disease that could potentially cause long-term disability.
"Leprosy is not highly contagious or easily spread, and most people have immunity against the disease," assures Spencer Bezalel, a dermatologist who recently conducted research on leprosy in the US for the Mayo Clinic.
It's about time we put this disease and all the stigma it carries to rest.
this article was originally published in science alert.com