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-Leprosy in Burma
Leprosy or Hanson's Disease is a scourge that will not go away easily in
third world countries and especially so in places like Burma where there
is no support from the government.
At one time (in the 70s) Burma had the distinction of having the highest
percentage of cases in relation to it's population. The community health
sector has been doing it's best through grass-root level health workers
and leprosy campaigns , which are funded by NGOs , to find new cases,
and have case control but it has always been an uphill task.
Today the scenario is nearly the same , only the funding may not be
comparable as in previous decades. There are 2 leprasoriums in Burma,
one in Mandalay for upper Burma and another in Moulmein for lower Burma.
These centres are equipped to treat not only the disease but also
rehabilitate the cases with the aid of surgery , prosthese and
occupational training so that the cases can earn a livlehood. The one in
Moulmein, established by American missionaries about 50 years ago, still
functions and in fact has improved in recent years through the hard work
of the doctors and staff in charge , but mainly because financial help
in foreign currency from NGOs is still available.The bad news is that ,
till date these centres do not have the support of the ministry of
health except for acknowledgements and opening ceremonies when tapes are
cut.This lack of political will in the campaign against this dreadful
disease will certainly hold back progress in the attempt to eradicate
leprosy in Burma. The centre in Mandalay operates independenttly and
details are not available.
There should be more done to help the plight of these people and
missionary and NGO help alone will not suffice in the long run. A more
concerted effort is required and the ministry of health should be
playing a larger role than just distributing Dapsone through health
workers ,sporadically.
I report this ,in the inetrest of the victims as it is a cause which few
understand and are aware of and fewer still are willing to help.
Cabaret
>Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 23:28:05 +0900
>From: "TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxx>
>Subject: BBC-Leprosy still found in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
>To: <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>, <burmanet2-l@xxxxxxxx>
>
>Monday, February 1, 1999 Published at 05:35 GMT
>
>Health-New focus on leprosy
>
>Leprosy still found in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
>By Corinne Podger of BBC Science
>
>The World Health Organisation is marking World Leprosy Day by
highlighting
>its campaign against a disease which causes crippling disabilities in
many
>developing countries.
>
>Angelo Simonazzi, of the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy
>Associations: "Leprosy is also a social disease"
>The disease has almost disappeared from the developed world, but
500,000 new
>cases are reported every year in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin
America.
>
>The WHO hopes to eliminate leprosy as a public health threat by the end
of
>this year, but it is still battling a number of hurdles.
>
>One of the biggest is a lack of both researchers and funding. This is
>because the organism that causes leprosy is very similar to the one
that
>causes tuberculosis.
>
>Because the incidence of TB in the developed world is rising, it gets a
lot
>more publicity and funding. Researchers working on leprosy complain
that
>there has been a brain drain of enthusiastic young scientists into high
>profile TB projects.
>
>Much work to be done
>
>But this insidious disease still causes terrible suffering and
crippling
>disabilities, and it is not beaten yet.
>
>The worst-affected countries are India, Indonesia and Myanmar (formerly
>known as Burma). Africa, the second most afflicted region has other
>obstacles to overcome, like the Aids epidemic and malaria, as well as
armed
>conflicts and a weaker health infrastructure.
>
>The WHO admits that eradicating leprosy from Africa at the moment is
"an
>impractical luxury".
>
>The tragedy is that leprosy is completely treatable. A combination of
>antibiotics can cure the disease, although damage to nerves is
permanent.
>
>In March, the WHO will meet with leprosy experts to see if its goal of
>beating the disease by the year 2000 can be achieved, and if not, when
the
>world will be rid of it.
>
>
>
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