India accounts more than half leprosy cases globally - WHO
January 29 , 2019 2175 days 914 0
The WHO stated that over 2 lakh new leprosy cases are detected around the world every year with India accounting for more than half of these cases.
India accounts for 60% of new cases detected in 2017 — 1.26 lakh out of 2.10 lakh.
New cases have declined gradually since 2008. However, they hit a sudden spike in 2012 and 2016. This was the trend for both India and globally.
It also stated that disease is 100% curable if detected early.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease which mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes.