Leprosy awareness fortnight in Dakshina Kannada from January 30

The Sparsh Leprosy Awareness fortnight will be held across Dakshina Kannada between January 30 and February 13.

Talking to reporters, District Leprosy Officer C.M. Sudershan said the awareness fortnight was being held to make people aware of symptoms of the disease and treatment facilities. It was also to address the issue of stigma and discrimination of infected persons, which still prevails.

The awareness drive was being held in the district despite the region entering leprosy elimination stage, as the prevalance rate in the district was 1.8% of the overall skin infection.

As many as 53 new cases were detected in 2022, which is a bit more than the 39 and the 29 detected in 2021 and 2020 respectively, he said

Senior dermatologist of Wenlock Hospital, V. Naveen Kumar, said during the drive they will be looking for those with white patches. If the patches are a result of leprosy, they will prescribe multi-drug therapy for a designated period when the disease will be completely cured.

People can have tele-consultation with experts through esanjeevani.in ior esanjeevaniopd app, he said.