New Cases of Leprosy in India at Alarming Stage

By M. SARASWATHI

NEW DELHI, India   (NNN-Bernama) -- New leprosy cases in India have reached an alarming stage as it accounted for a staggering 55.5 per cent of new global infections in 2010, said a news report.

Of the 228,474 leprosy cases detected worldwide in 2010, the figure for India stood at 126,800, International Leprosy Union (ILU) (India)’s president S.D. Gokhale told the Press Trust of India.

“If the union and state governments do not take serious note of this fact and initiate effective steps to eradicate leprosy, the problem will become more acute,” he said.

India has more than 1,000 leper colonies. -- NNN-BERNAMA