Health experts have stressed on increasing awareness among people for prevention and treatment of leprosy. They have also called for flow of funds to alleviate patients’ sufferings.
While talking to APP, Dr Wasim Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences said that the disease is caused by a slow-growing bacillus and transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth of patients.
If left untreated, it can cause nerve damage, leading to muscle weakness and permanent disabilities.
However, Dr Khawaja said leprosy can be treated with a six to 12-month course of multi-drug therapy.
“Antibiotics are capable of annihilating bacteria and within a few months, the disease can be completely cured,” he added.
The initial symptoms of leprosy include light, painless patches in skin and as the disease advances, it causes many other complications, such as deformities in patients’ face and limbs.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2012.
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