Leprosy prevention programme launched

District Joint Collector M. Naveen has issued directives to intensify efforts for the prevention of leprosy, emphasising the importance of ensuring that no case goes unnoticed. In a meeting held on Friday with medical officers as part of the ongoing disease detection programme from December 27 to January 12, he outlined a comprehensive strategy to combat leprosy.
During the meeting, Naveen revealed that District Collector Shrikesh Lathkar had formed a team of 2,224 members to conduct a two-week house-to-house survey to identify leprosy patients.
Each team, consisting of one Asha worker and one male volunteer, is assigned to visit 20 houses per day in villages and 50 houses per day in urban areas. The objective is to conduct a thorough survey, detecting non-touchable white spots and reporting them to the respective medical officer. If leprosy is confirmed, preventive measures, including multi-drug treatment (MDT), will be administered.
Expressing the urgency of public cooperation, Naveen urged everyone in the district to actively participate in the survey. Presently, there are 219 reported cases of leprosy in the district. Two posters related to the leprosy prevention programme were unveiled during the meeting.
District Medical Health Officer Dr. B. Meenakshi, District Leprosy Prevention Officer Anuradha, Demo Paidi Venkataramana, and medical officers Dr. Sujatha and Dr. Praveen, along with Venkataswamy from the NGO, attended the meeting. The initiative aims to create awareness, detect cases early, and implement preventive measures to curb the spread of leprosy in the district.