Bauchi detects 104 new cases of leprosy

IT has been disclosed that no fewer than 104 new cases of leprosy have been detected and registered for treatment in Bauchi State.

The disclosure was made on Monday by the State Chairman for the Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria, (BACATMA), Dr Mohammed Sambo Alkali, during a press briefing to mark the 2019 World Leprosy Day.

Sambo Alkali said that the new cases recorded include 12 per cent in children and 9 Percent in adults, adding that the trend was now alarming both at the national and local levels.

The BACATMA Chairman also said that the World Health Organisation, (WHO) has encouraged nations to introduce rapid response programmes to achieve the global target of zero per cent of child infection by the year 2020.

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He said that “Leprosy is a chronic, progressive bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium Leprae. It primarily affects the nerves of the extremities, the skin, the lining of the nose and the upper respiratory tract. Leprosy is also known as Hansen’s disease.”

“It is one of the oldest disease known to mankind and the day is commemorated every last Sunday of January. It is a contagious disease and can be cured by the WHO multidrug therapy given to patients free of charge for six to twelve months, ” he further said.

Sambo Alkali then stated that the disease can be contacted through repeated contact with an untreated person for a long period of time, adding once a case is detected, the person should be taken to the nearest leprosy treatment centre to prevent further spread of the disease.