New leprosy cases in PHL highest in western Pacific - WHO

Even though the disease is considered to have been eradicated in the country, some areas remain leprosy hotspots after the Philippines registered the highest number of new cases in the Western Pacific Region in 2010, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). At a news conference at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in Manila, Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona said the Philippines recorded 2,041 new leprosy cases, which translate to a prevalence rate of 0.31 per 10,000 people. In contrast, China, with a population of 1.3 billion, has an estimated 2,000 new cases of leprosy, according to WHO statistics. The disease is considered eliminated if there is less than one case per 10,000 of population. The figures were released at the three-day WHO Western Pacific regional meeting of national leprosy program managers that started Monday. Dr. Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said the region had already met the global leprosy elimination target in 1991. “What we need is the political commitment to finish the job of true leprosy elimination in the Western Pacific,” Shin said. “Leprosy elimination in the Western Pacific is a paradox. On one hand, all but a few small countries in the Region have eliminated leprosy,” he said. Only the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands have failed to meet the target, Shin said. “On the other, we continue to see a disappointingly high number of new reported cases each year, including in more than 400 children. Most of those cases are recurring in the countries that meet the elimination target but continue to have hotspots of disease,” Shin added. Former Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez said leprosy hotspots in the Philippines include some areas in Ilocos Sur, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Cebu City, Davao City, Tawi-tawi, Sulu, and Metro Manila. Romualdez currently heads Culion Foundation, a non-government organization working for the prevention and control of communicable diseases such as leprosy. Leprosy is curable New leprosy cases in the Western Pacific region have been reduced by nearly 90 percent since 1991, Shin said, but added: “We need to address the unfinished business of true leprosy elimination.” According to the WHO Western Pacific Region Leprosy Fact Sheet, there were 5,055 new leprosy cases and 8,386 cases of leprosy patients undergoing treatment in 2010. “Leprosy is curable. We have the drugs. We have the knowledge. We can stop the disease from being transmitted,” Shin said. He said the Western Pacific Region’s “commendable achievement” of leprosy elimination target “could be misinterpreted as true elimination and lead us down a path of complacency.” Shin warned, “This would be disastrous for people who are most at risk of contracting the disease.” Prof. Kenzo Kikuni, chair of the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation, said public education about leprosy is also needed. “There is always a stigma attached to this disease. We must also address the discrimination” against leprosy patients, he said. – Ibarra C. Mateo/YA/HS, GMA News