The World Health Organization (the WHO) announced World Leprosy Day which this year will be celebrated on January 30th. The theme of the celebration is “United for Dignity.” It is a campaign that promotes awareness of leprosy (now called Hansen’s disease) and dispels ancient myths and stigmas.
But most of all, the campaign is designed to promote and preserve the dignity of people who have experienced isolation and discrimination due to the stigma associated with the disease.
An Ancient Disease That is Now Curable
The word “leprosy” is mentioned about forty times in various versions of the bible. People with the disease were not allowed to live in a community with others who were not infected. The stigma still exists in many countries.
Leprosy was renamed Hansen’s disease in 1873 after Gerhard Hansen, a Norwegian scientist. Dr. Hansen discovered that a bacterium called Mycobacterium leprae caused the disease.
Today the disease is curable when treated with antibiotics. The treatment is called multi-drug therapy. Within 72 hours after treatment, the recipient is no longer infectious. In fact, even without treatment, leprosy is only mildly infectious. Approximately ninety-five percent of people in the world are immune to the disease, which is not easily transmitted.
The United States and Other Countries
Hansen’s disease is rare in the U.S. which only reports about 150 to 250 cases each year. On the other hand, the WHO reported about 200,000 cases worldwide in 2019.
An even more dramatic figure is the estimated 2 to 3 million people in the world living with disabilities related to Hansen’s disease.
Over half of all new Hansen’s disease cases occur in India where January 30th commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s death. India is listed as having the third poorest population in the world following Brazil and Indonesia. Poverty plays a major role in the prevalence of the disease, as people are unable to afford transportation to hospital facilities.
How Can We Help?
People with leprosy face many challenges due to the isolation, discrimination, and stigma from the disease. These people deserve the right to live a dignified life.
Remember them on January 30th.
