The Federal Government yesterday expressed worries over the continued presence of undetected Leprosy cases, especially among children in the country.
Speaking at the 2019 World Leprosy Day with the theme: Ending Discrimination, Stigma and Prejudice, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, noted that 2,442 new Leprosy cases were reported.
He said the National Tuberculosis (TB) and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) notified the ministry about the development in 2017, saying 184 or 7.5 per cent of the cases were children, while 361 cases or 15 per cent had acquired irreversible disability, due to late presentation at health care facilities.
He added that 522 new Leprosy cases were reported in 2018, of which five per cent were children and 13 per cent were already with disability.
“This indicates ongoing transmission within communities; just as permanent disability indicates that cases existed unreported in communities for years,” he said.
Ehanire noted that stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their families still remained a major challenge in the country, adding that there were many wrong beliefs about the disease.
He stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) developed the Global Leprosy Strategy 2016‒2020 to strengthen efforts for leprosy control at global level, while the Ministry of Health domesticated the document and launched a five-year National Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Strategic Plan (2016–2020) in 2016.
However, Lassa fever outbreak in parts of the country has killed 12 more persons and infected 74 people, including a health worker in seven states.
Latest figures released yesterday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that in the reporting Week 03 (January 14-20, 2019) 74 new confirmed cases were reported from Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Plateau, Taraba and Adamawa states with 12 new deaths.
