The Health Minister of India, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the number of new cases of the deforming disease is decreasing at a slow pace with the numbers from 2008-2009 being a little over 134,000.
According to health ministry data, 260,000 leprosy cases were reported in the country during 2004-05. The year after the cases sharply dropped to 161,457 but there after the decline is relatively slow. While 139,252 cases were reported in 2006-07, in 2007-08, the number of new infections was 137,685.
India has over half of the new leprosy cases worldwide.
Azad has said the National Leprosy Eradication Program has taken several steps to treat and rehabilitate those afflicted including providing funds for non-constructive surgery services to leprosy affected persons free of cost for disability correction.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae. The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and also the eyes, apart from some other structures.
The exact mechanism of transmission of leprosy is not known. At least until recently, the most widely held belief was that the disease was transmitted by contact between cases of leprosy and healthy persons. More recently the possibility of transmission by the respiratory route is gaining ground.
There are many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America with a significant number of leprosy cases.
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