Declared leprosy-free in 2009, city sees 64 cases in 3 months

Asked about the increase, Dr Simrat Kaur, district leprosy officer, said, “The number has increased, but most of the cases reported in the city are from adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana and UP.” In fact, 34 of the 64 cases in the last three months have come from the adjoining areas.

Within the city, villages and colonies on the periphery are the high endemic areas. In the last three months, seven leprosy cases were reported from Bapudham colony, five from Manimajra, three from Dhanas and two from Burail. This is because the infection spreads more in small, unhygienic and overcrowded localities.

At the same time, “this does not mean that only poor have this disease, as we have so many upper-class people also coming up with this disease”, said Dr Kaur.

The disease, which is caused by mycobacterium leprae, has a long incubation period, which could be anything between two and 20 years. It spreads through respiratory tract via cough and sneeze.

“When Chandigarh was declared leprosy-free in 2009, it seems several latent cases were present in society at that time. Now, after so many years, they are coming up with symptoms,” Dr Kaur added.

The most common symptoms of leprosy are skin lesions that may be faded or discoloured, or white or red colour patches on the skin which do not have any sensation. With proper medication, the disease is completely curable.