Caribbean neighbours launch action plan against leprosy

Within the last week, two Caribbean countries have recorded cases of the rare disease, leprosy, forcing one territory to launch an aggressive action plan to eradicate the infectious disease.

Last Wednesday, January 5, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in St Lucia’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George provided a Health Summary update stating that the country had recorded 11 cases of leprosy.

The CMO said the numbers indicate a 120 percent increase from the period 2020 to 2023.

“A national action plan has been drafted toward the elimination of leprosy on island,” Dr. Belmar-George said in the address.

The action plan includes an educational campaign, intensive contact tracing in the affected communities, retraining of healthcare workers to facilitate early detection and diagnosis, increase in country testing and more aggressive and consistent treatment.

In Barbados, Ministry of Health officials confirmed that one case of the rare disfiguring disease had also been recorded in that country.

On Saturday, January 13, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Arthur Phillips told citizens that there was no need to panic.

“The reality is that we usually have zero or one case of leprosy; that’s the general trend.”

The last reported case of leprosy in Barbados was back in 2022, according to information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), and before that there were no cases reported since 2014.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae which predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Though curable, if left untreated, the disease may cause progressive and permanent disabilities.

The bacteria are transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated cases. The majority of annual new case detected around the world are from South-East Asia. India has the greatest number of cases, with Brazil second and Indonesia third.