Colombo (News 1st) – The Anti Leprosy Campaign at the Health Ministry on Saturday (Nov. 19) warned of an alarming rate in the spread of Hansen's Disease (most commonly known as Leprosy) among school children in Sri Lanka.
Around 15 percent of the cases reported this year were among school children, Dr. Prasad Ranaweera, the Director of the Anti Leprosy Campaign raised the alarm.
An island-wide programme has been launched at the school level to detect Leprosy patients, he said. With early diagnosis and treatment, Hansen's Disease or Leprosy can be cured, and according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 95% of humans are immune to the bacteria that cause Leprosy. "There are two types of Leprosy spreading in the country, that is communicable and non-communicable.
Unfortunately, 60 percent of the cases detected so far were communicable cases of Leprosy. This is quite concerning," Dr. Ranaweera told News 1st.