Binh Thuan works to get rid of leprosy

The central province of Binh Thuan has met all Ministry of Health criteria for leprosy management, heard a workshop held by the provincial Department of Health and the National Hospital of Dermatology and Venerology on October 27.

The ministry inspected leprosy eradication work randomly in 10 recently infected communes across the province on October 26-27. The four main criteria were management of lepers, detection of new cases, caring for patients with disabilities and promoting communication about the disease.

The investigations showed that for the past three consecutive years, the leprosy prevalence rate has remained at a rate of less than 0.02 per 10,000 people, with all patients properly cared for. Basic knowledge about the disease was also taught in schools.

The province devised a wide range of comprehensive preventive and controlling measures to eliminate the disease at all levels, including checking-ups, early detection and publicity campaigns to raise awareness about the disease in the community.

The provincial Hospital of Dermatology and Venerology joined with the one in Ho Chi Minh City to provide orthopedic surgery services for leprosy patients with disabilities to help improve their appearance, while mobilising resources for seriously infected patients.

The province’s health sector aims to strengthen communications work in a bid to eliminate the disease at the district level by 2020, said Le Huynh Phuc, director of the Hospital.

It is also striving to help infected people integrate into the community, and provide them with health insurance coverage and stable homes, he added.

In 1998, Binh Thuan had the highest rate of new cases nationwide – 308 per one million people. The rate is now seven per 1.2 million people.

The province now has 505 leprosy patients, dropped from 805 in 2005.-VNA