Leprosy contained in HP, says Shimla CMO

Shimla, July 6 (UNI) The special health institutions dealing with leprosy patients in Himachal Pradesh are being closed as the disease has been contained in the state, according to Shimla Chief Medical Officer.

Leprosy has been more or less contained in the state and the majority of the patients registered with the department had come from the other states, Shimla CMO Ram Lal Sharma said at a press conference here.

Mr Sharma said the total number of leprosy patients in the state was 209 only and a majority of these had come from the other states.

In Shimla district alone, out of a total of 28 patients, nine were permanent residents of the district, while the rest were Nepali labourers or patients from other states, he said.

He said the state government has to take a policy decision on checking the movement of leprosy patients as the department on its own cannot formulate any plan.

Asserting that the closing down of the hospitals looking after leprosy patients was a step in the right direction, he said employees in the other state hospitals were being trained to attend these patients.

Mr Sharma said these employees would now serve as muti-purpose health workers and would be an asset to the state health machinery.

He said the district health department was holding a month-long awareness campaign from July 10 to August 10 in the district to make people aware of the disease, which was 100 per cent cure able.

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