Leprosy detection: Maharashtra govt to screen 8.66 cr persons, 1.73 cr households

Mumbai, Nov 14 (PTI) The Maharashtra government will screen 8.66 crore persons and 1.73 crore households across the state for leprosy case detection from November 17 to December 2.

Through this screening dive the state government is continuing its annual initiative to identify leprosy patients through an extensive door-to-door survey across all districts following the guidelines of the Centre, the state health department said in a statement.

"For this, 65,832 teams and 13,166 supervisors have been deployed. Each team, comprising one ASHA worker and one male volunteer, will visit 20 houses daily in rural areas and 25 to 30 houses in urban areas to conduct physical examinations. The teams will carry out the survey for 14 consecutive days," the statement added.

Patients identified with leprosy during the survey will be examined by medical officers, and those diagnosed will immediately be started on multi-drug therapy.

The campaign aims to detect hidden or undiagnosed cases, bring patients under treatment to break the chain of transmission, increase public awareness about leprosy, and strengthen efforts toward achieving the goal of 'zero leprosy transmission' by 2027, it said.

To ensure effective implementation, training workshops and coordination committee meetings are being conducted at the state, district, and block levels, along with team training sessions at primary health centres.

To prevent the spread of leprosy and ensure timely treatment, the Maharashtra government has recently declared leprosy a 'notifiable disease'.

All doctors and health institutions are now required to report every confirmed case of leprosy to the respective District Health Office, Assistant Director of Health Services (Leprosy), and local civic health authorities within two weeks of diagnosis. PTI SM BNM