Help Overturn the Stigma of Leprosy
Reverend Martin Adhikary
31st January, 2021 10:40:59
Today, the last Sunday of this January, organisations all over the world working with and for leprosy affected people observe as the World Leprosy Day. The idea behind this is to raise awareness among people about the age-old stigmatising health hazard known as Leprosy. Leprosy is also known as ‘Hansen’s disease’ after the name of Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian scientist, who first identified the causative agent of the disease in the year 1973. This is the bacteria named ‘Mycobacterium leprae’ causes this disease.
Leprosy is a progressively infectious disease. Although it is a mildly infectious disease the gestation period can take many years it harms people in multiple ways: physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. In days gone by it was considered a curse, even a divine curse of God. Unless right and timely treatment is received by the affected people leprosy ca