Himalayan News Service

Biratnagar, January 25

Despite the easy access to medicines, the rise in number of lepers has posed a challenge to health officials in the eastern region.

This might affect the target of reducing the number of leprosy victims to less than one per 10,000 by 2005. According to records, the districts of Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari and Siraha have seen an upsurge in the number of such patients.

As per the figure of the first quarter of 2060/61, there are 492 lepers in Morang, 261 in Sunsari, 315 in Saptari and 251 in Siraha district. The increase has surprised the Netherlands Leprosy Relief (NLR) which is active in this field since the last 22 years.

The information was disseminated at a programme jointly organised by the District Public Health Office (DPHO) and NLR on the occasion of the 51st World Leprosy Day. Addressing the programme, Dr Krishna Prasad Dhakal, the chief of NLR said that Nepal was one the four countries worst-affected by leprosy. "If we analyse the situation in five districts of the Terai, 5.76 per 10,000 persons are infected," he added.

Ten hilly districts out of 16 in the eastern region have only 52 lepers. Udayapur and Terhathum districts are counted as negligibly affected districts. The NLR has discovered Jhapa as the worst-affected district among the five districts of the Terai. There are 558 patients in the bordering VDCs of Rajgad, Baniyani, Kumarkhod and Kohabara.

The DPHO, Morang confirmed that the number of leprosy patients is rising despite the availability of medicines. Bhogendra Raj Dotel, chief of the DPHO said that his office has adopted additional measures to control the disease. The DPHO recorded 428 lepers by the end of Kartik with Jhurkiya VDC alone having 135 patients. Other VDCs with high number of lepers are Haraicha, Darbesa, Pokhariya and Rani. It states the New Case Detention Rate at 2.1 per 10,000 persons.

In order to control the disease, the DPHO, Morang has started Rapid Inquiry Survey in Hasandaha and Amardaha VDCs and has established skin camps in Dainiya, Mangalbare, Haraicha and Dadarbairiya VDCs. The NLR stated that it has treated more than 70,000 Nepalis and 25,000 Indians so far.

Pushkar Kafle, senior officer of NLR said that they have established mobile clinics in each VDC. Previously, there were only five such clinics.