The following article originally appeared in HT Health, a section of The HIndustan Times. The Hindustan Times holds all rights to this article, and may be reached via the link at the bottom of this page.

LEPROSY, A word dreaded by many a people. A world that conjures up images of revulsion, deformities, loathing and pity. Leprosy is the one of the oldest diseases of mankind, ravaged the lives of affected people in a large scale. Next to poliomyelitis, it is the biggest disease to cause deformities in the body.

It is a disease thought to be the curse of god in most religions and societies. People have tormented, tortured and despised fellow humans and acted in the most inhuman manner out of fear and bias, superstition and lack of information about the malady.


Only in leprosy, the affected people were segregated from the community by law in some countries and barred from getting married and having children. In India, leprosy affected persons could not return to their families from the hospitals. Some have voluntarily left the families and started to live as a group called as leprosy colonies, away from the community. Even today there are more than 500 leprosy colonies in India. There are many leprosy villages in China and Africa.

Leprosy-related discrimination is based on ignorance, indifference and irresponsible attitudes of people. In this sense, it is important to educate people about leprosy.

The disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, was identified by Gerhard Henrik Armauer [Hansen] in the year 1873 and usually spreads faster in warm and humid climes as that of India and Brazil. Even today India has the highest number of Leprosy cases across the world, followed by Brazil. Since the introduction of Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) in 1984.


History has just been made in Geneva in the context of the global battle against the disease which is perhaps the most stigmatized and one of the oldest: Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease. The 57th Session of the UN Sub Commission of Human Rights resolved in August 2005 to recognize the gross human rights violations of more than 25 million leprosy affected people in the world, half of whom are in India, and their immediate family-members, and have requested the national governments and the UN System for remedial measures guidelines and legislations. This is big leap in the quest for a more just and equitable society. This is a landmark success of the WHO, the national and provincial Government health and social justice departments in the endemic countries, Nippon Foundation, Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation, IDEA International, International Leprosy World Bank.

The Nippon Foundation Chairman, Yohei Sasakawa took this Mission of Life after his giving a word to this effect to his father the legendary Ryoichi Sasakawa of Japan while he was in his death-bed.

Our responsibility: should be not to discriminate leprosy affected person, it is not only illegal, but immoral and inhuman.

We should also involve them in community functions and respect their dignity as a human being.

-Sensation less, pale patches on skin
-Swelling of nerves
-Delayed healing of wounds
-Eyes not completely closed

-Contact a community health centre immediately
-Leprosy is completely curable with MDT
-If treated at the early stage, a leprosy patient can be as normal as any other person, without deformity.