Doctors accuse India of massaging leprosy figures

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7500.1104-b

BMJ 2005;330:1104 (14 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7500.1104-b

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Doctors accuse India of massaging leprosy figures

New Delhi Ganapati Mudur

Doctors in India have expressed concern that health authorities are playing down the number of patients with leprosy in a bid to declare that they have eliminated leprosy as a public health problem by the end of this year.

In line with the elimination target set by the World Health Organization, the Indian health ministry has said that the prevalence of leprosy in India is expected to reach one case per 10 000 people by December 2005.

But public health specialists cautioned last week that health authorities would meet that target only through �artful manipulation� of the definition of leprosy and by �avoiding active case detection.�

�Leprosy will remain a public health problem even after [the] prevalence rate drops to one per 10 000,� said Dr Cornelius Walter, director for south Asia at the Leprosy Mission Trust. �It would be misleading to suggest otherwise.�

Government figures . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Clarification: doctors did not accuse Indian authorities of massaging leprosy data: Cornelius Walter
BMJ 2005 330: 1390. [Extract] [Full Text]

Rapid Responses:

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Best to wean away stigma quickly for success of anti-leprosy programme.: Dr. Rajesh Chauhan, et al.
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Clarifications : "Doctors accuse India of massaging leprosy figures": Dr.Cornelius Walter
bmj.com, 18 May 2005 [Full text]