The head of the leprosy and tuberculosis (T.B) department in the Ministry of Health, Michel Gasana, has disclosed that leprosy has been considerably minimised and will soon be stamped out. “Generally in Rwanda, we are in an elimination phase. There is about one case per 10, 000 people,” he said in an interview with The New Times that he gave recently.He revealed that annually, 40-45 leprosy cases are received. Gasana said that previously high prevalence of the disease was in areas close to the border. “There are many areas that had leprosy in the past, mostly those near the border with Burundi and Congo. Some of them include Cyangugu, Bugarama, Bugesera, and Kibungo,” he said. He said that the few cases received arise from the same areas and are mostly adults. He cautioned that despite the decline in leprosy cases, there shouldn’t be a laxity in the health workers’ efforts. “Health workers should continue giving much attention despite the low prevalence rate. They must make more consultations,” Gasana said. He warned that the bacterial disease is both contagious and airborne but added that most people’s immune systems are capable of fighting off the disease. “Leprosy is also airborne but immunity plays a big role.”However, he said that the intensity of the disease was encouraged by late detection. “The disease is curable but the problem is early detection. If the disease is diagnosed late, it attacks the nerves,” he divulged. He blamed the late detection on the negligent behavior of many Rwandese. “Majority of Rwandese neglect skin conditions like rashes. They say it is not a big problem. Today you might be infected with the disease when you got it 10 years ago,” he said. There are two types of leprosy. Paucibaallaire [tuberculoid] that takes six months to heal and Multibaallaire [lepromatosus] which takes 12 months to heal. Ends
