Ghana Achieves Global Leprosy Target

Ghana has achieved the global leprosy elimination target of fewer than 1.0 per 10,000 population, says the Leprosy Elimination Programme (LEP) Ghana.
Even though the global elimination target set by the World Health Organisation is one case of leprosy for every 10,000 population, the country has a prevalence rate of 0.36 per 10,000 population.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae which mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves.
Dr. Ekow Otabil, National Programme Manager of the LEP, who disclosed this at a seminar organised by the Ghana Health Service in Accra on Tuesday, stated however that the country was yet to eradicate the disease.
He explained eradication as the complete cessation of transmission as a result of the disappearance of the disease causing organism and elimination, as the reduction of leprosy patients in a community to a level where the disease ceases to be of public health importance.
Giving the national leprosy statistics, Dr Otabil said the country recorded a total of 734 cases as at the end of last October. He said out of the number, 610 new cases were detected during the year and explained that a new cases of leprosy is one that has never been previously treated with anti-leprosy drugs.
Giving the breakdown of the national statistics as at October ending, Dr Otabil said the Greater Accra recorded the lowest case of 40 with the Upper East Region recording 98 being the highest.
On new cases detected during the same period, he said, the Greater Accra Region recorded the lowest of 37 while the Upper East had the highest of 90 cases.
Dr Otabil said that the LEP was currently promoting public awareness about the disease in the communities besides intensifying case search in areas with high prevalence, providing multi-drug therapy (MDT) services to all health facilities and ensuring that all existing and new cases were given appropriate MDT.