As many as 238 new cases of leprosy were registered with the leprosy centres and clinics in interior Sindh between 2012 and 2014, a clinical analysis revealed on Thursday.
The analysis was jointly carried out by Larkana Leprosy Centre Incharge Farooq Rahman Soomro, Manzoor Ali Shaikh, Irfan Ahmed Shaikh, Nuzhat Seema Bhatti and Ghulam Murtaza Pathan.
Of the 238 patients, 104 (44 per cent) were adult males and 106 adult females. Among child cases, there were 14 (6 per cent) males and 14 females (6 per cent).
Regarding types of leprosy, the study detailed 59 (25 per cent) tuberculoid cases, 100 (42 per cent) borderline cases, and 53 (22 per cent) borderline lepromatous leprosy cases. The multibacillary cases were 179 (75 per cent) and paucibacillary cases 59 (25 per cent).
The study further said that the proportion of children below 15 years was an average 12 per cent as new cases in this study. According to the data, 24 new leprosy cases were detected each in Jamshoro and Hyderabad, 12 in Thano Boola Khan, 10 from Kotri, three from Thatta, 24 from Dadu, nine in Mirpurkhas, two from Badin, seven from Sanghar, 12 in Nawabshah, 24 from Sukkur, eight from Khairpur, 27 in Larkana, 14 from Shikarpur, 12 in Jacobabad and 26 Kandhkot.
According to Larkana Leprosy Centre Incharge Farooq Rahman Soomro, the treatment of leprosy is free of cost in Pakistan at the relevant clinics and centres. He said that drugs were also delivered at the houses of the affected patients.
