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Africa News afrol News
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Africa News afrol News
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afrol.com/AENS, 15 February - Leprosy, a highly contagious disease that results in severe disfigurement, has resurfaced in Malawi six years after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that it had been eliminated from the country. Malawi's largest hospital, Queen Elizabeth Central, confirmed on Friday that it had diagnosed and treated 220 leprosy cases over the past 12 months. Hospital spokesman and leprosy expert Wilson Msomba said most of the cases were extreme because the victims only sought medical help after they started suffering from paralysis, disfigurement and deformity. - The only way to treat this disease, which is essentially a bacterial infection, is with antibiotics during its early stages before it has inflicted too much damage on the skin, membranes and nerves, said Msomba. "But instead, we see people only arriving at hospitals once they have lost fingers, toes or other body parts." The Hafod Foundation, a local human rights organisation focusing on rights for the under-privileged, on Friday criticised Malawi's government for allowing leprosy's resurgence by slashing budgets for control programmes. Hafod president Harry Khamalatha, himself a leprosy victim, said Malawi's National Assembly was ignoring all other health threats in its single-minded fight against HIV/Aids. "The lion share of our health budget goes to HIV/Aids, which is great, but everyone appears to have forgotten about other just as dangerous or fatal diseases," said Khamalatha. He also alleged that government was not doing anything to end discrimination for those suffering from leprosy, who are often shunned or exiled by rural communities. "People with leprosy are effectively stripped of their rights, and no-one cares. We intend fighting for those rights and are therefore launching a public awareness campaign about the disease and explaining why its victims should be cared for instead of shunned," said Khamalatha. The campaign will include, he added, skills and business training for leprosy victims. Leprosy was previously considered a curse with no known cure, but recent medical advancements and the wide availability of antibiotics have banished the disease from the West and most developing nations. By Brian Ligomeka, African Eye News Service (AENS)
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