‘Leprosy free’ Odisha sees worrying rise in cases
The Hindu
Despite steady rise in infections, the State has not filled vacant posts, deployed trained staff
The district administration of Sambalpur in Odisha recently turned to women self help groups for an unlikely assignment — nursing care and assistance for leprosy patients.
The desperate intervention was necessitated as the State lacks requisite paramedical workers to nurse infected persons.
The intervention comes after Odisha declared itself as a leprosy-free State in 2006-07 following cases dropping below 10,000 and the prevalence rate dropping below 1%. The State had then dismantled infrastructure and done away with skilled manpower dealing with leprosy patients
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