Padmavati Prabhu
Panaji: Leprosy can be cured with treatment, but the stigma attached to the disease continues to prevent people from coming forward for screening, State Leprosy Officer Dr Cheryl D’Souza said.
“The stigma has been there since the old days when there was no treatment available. But today even when it can be completely cured, the stigma continues,” Dr D’Souza said.
She said the stigma mainly stems from myths, misconceptions, fear of contagion and rejection, and visible body-disfiguring symptoms.
Goa reported 46 cases of leprosy between April and December 2025. National Anti-Leprosy Day is observed every year on January 30, with this year’s theme being ‘ending discrimination, ensuring dignity’.
“The stigma prevents people from coming forward to seek treatment. This results into progression of the disease to a severe form which can sometimes lead to visible deformities caused after the involvement of nerves and muscles,” Dr D’Souza said.
She said Goa, on average, records 65 to 75 cases of leprosy every year. Although the state achieved the elimination stage of leprosy in 2006, the long incubation period and persistent stigma have prevented it from achieving total eradication. She said Goa’s current prevalence rate is about 0.58 per 10,000 population.
“The stigma associated with leprosy can have social and psychological effects which may even lead to isolation and mental distress,” she said.
Dr D’Souza said that despite early diagnosis and treatment being key, people with visible symptoms often refrain from getting tested due to fear of rejection and discrimination.
“Leprosy can be fully treated with multi drug therapy (MDT) and once the patient is put on treatment, he becomes non-infectious. There is a need to address the issue of stigma to ensure that people come forward and get tested to eradicate leprosy,” she said, stressing the need for awareness.
“Once awareness is created, people will come forward and get screened early. This will result into no transmission leading to drop in number of leprosy cases and eradication of the disease,” she said.
