Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in Vietnam
- Leprosy is a poorly understood infectious disease which leads to important discrimination.
- Although cases still occur Vietnam was met the WHO criteria for disease elimination in 2000.
- Out of the 87 million people living in Vietnam, there were 1336 cases reported in 2001; in 2012 this number fell to 296 cases.
- Leprosy in Vietnam – Historical dates
- 1983 – started treating it with MDT (Multi-drug Therapy)
- 1995 – CDR less than 1/10000 (Case Detection Rate)
- 2000 – elimination according to WHO criteria at the provincial level
- 2003 – elimination according to the Vietnamese criteria (4)
- PR (prevalence rate) 0,2 out of 10000 over 3 consecutive years
- Recent CDR (case detection rate) less than 1 in 100000 population
However, disability grade 2 still reaches 15% of those affected. At this time, 18000 people have severe disabilities (grade 2; PAL: Permanent Activity Limitation)
Contributors
Dr Christophe Hsu – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland
Source of Information: Tran HK. Epidemiology of Leprosy in Vietnam, 1983-2012. Leprosy and other Mycobacteriosis – Status Update. 2014 (4) – 21st Regional Conference of Dermatology; Danang (Vietnam)
