What causes leprosy and is it contagious? Plus symptoms, how it’s treated, the tragedy of its stigma, and why there was a recent outbreak in the US
- Around 2 to 3 million people around the world today have leprosy, with about 200,000 new cases detected yearly – roughly two-thirds of them in India
- One reason for its continued spread is that people are so fearful of being shunned by the community that they don’t come forward when they are infected
A chronic infectious disease that attacks the skin and nerves, leprosy brings to mind images of disfigurement and ostracisation. For centuries, those afflicted suffered while exiled in colonies.
Attitudes have not been helped by its portrayal in the media: as recently as 2017, the hit American horror film It portrayed an evil clown who sometimes takes the form of a nightmarish leper to terrify children.
The stigma that sufferers experience is among its worst impacts. It’s appropriate, then, that the theme for this year’s World Leprosy Day is “Ending Stigma, Embracing Dignity”.
World Leprosy Day falls on the last Sunday of January, except in India, where it is observed on January 30 to coincide with the anniversary of the death of the late Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi.
Some 2 to 3 million people around the world today have leprosy. About 200,000 new cases are detected yearly, with India accounting for about two-thirds of them. In Hong Kong, six cases were reported in 2022, and one in 2023.
However, some experts believe that the actual number of people suffering from leprosy is 17 times higher than the numbers reported officially.
