220,000 people contracted leprosy in 2011 - does the disease get enough attentio

January 27th was the World Day of Leprosy. In 2011 220,000 people - "men, women and children" had contracted leprosy, a severe disease, though one that is no longer fatal if treated properly. Is Leprosy given the attention it deserves from medical professionals and the general public? It seems like there are less high-profile groups dealing with leprosy than there are with things like AIDS or various cancers. I think leprosy is mostly a third-world disease, very rarely does it occur in America or Europe.

Zygmunt Zimowski, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, has pointed out that leprosy and other "neglected diseases"  cause " hundreds of thousands of victims through deaths, grave forms of disability, or anyway the permanent compromised state of health of adults, adolescents and children, in disadvantaged countries", specifically mentioning the following diseases: dengue fever, sleeping sickness, bilharziosis, onchocerciasis, leishmaniasis and trachoma.

95% of humans have a natural immunity to leprosy. In relation to the threat is poises to the human population I'd say it gets as much attention as it warrants, maybe even a little more.

95% of humans have a natural immunity to leprosy. In relation to the threat is poises to the human population I'd say it gets as much attention as it warrants, maybe even a little more.

worlock77

It seems like there are less high-profile groups dealing with leprosy than there are with things like AIDS or various cancers.

JoeRatz16

That's because like you said, it's no longer fatal as long as it gets the right treatment. You can get the best treatment in the world for cancer and still might not overcome it.

 It seems like there are less high-profile groups dealing with leprosy than there are with things like AIDS or various cancers.

JoeRatz16

Is this surprising, though? These both cause death for millions of people each year. 222,000 contracted cases doesn't seem like that big of number comparatively. I mean, that doesn't mean we should ignore it and we should still work on eliminating it entirely, but I don't think it is in need of a huge amount of special attention.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

95% of humans have a natural immunity to leprosy. In relation to the threat is poises to the human population I'd say it gets as much attention as it warrants, maybe even a little more.

JoeRatz16

The same can be said of the flu. And like the flu leprosy is treatable. It's not necessarily fatal or everlasting anymore. Not sure what more can really be done at this point.