Section : Conference Notes

Leprosy: comparing Indonesia with the World

  • Leprosy is not yet 100% eliminated but improving thanks to MDT (Multidrug Therapy)…but less and less aattention is devoted to it (only 25 attendees are present)
  • Leprosy is part of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) according to the WTO http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/en/)
    • There are 3 in Indonesia when compared with Brazil
    • The 3 NTD’s in Indonesia are Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy), Malaria and Helminthic infections
  • According to the WHO a disease is eliminated when the case detection rate (CDR) falls below 1 in 10000. Indonesia achieved this number in 2013.
  • The top 3 countries in the SEAR (South-East Asia Region) are (CDR):
    • Nepal 0.93 cases per 10000 population
    • India 0.91 cases per 10000 population
    • Indonesia 0.74 cases per 10000 population
  • 70% of new cases reported worldwide are from SEAR region (globally 232857 cases were reported in 2012)
  • Countries with more more than 1000 new cases detected (2012) (in decreasing order):
    • India
    • Brazil
    • Indonesia
    • Nigeria
    • Ethiopia
    • Bangladesh
    • Nepal
    • Congo

Contributors

Dr Christophe Hsu – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland
Source of Information: Soebono H. Leprosy to be a neglected Disease in Indonesia ? Leprosy and other Mycobacteriosis – Status Update. 2014 (4) – 21st Regional Conference of Dermatology; Danang (Vietnam)