1,200 lepers on record in Padang

1,200 lepers on record in Padang

PADANG, West Sumatra: The province has a recorded 1,200
lepers, mostly low-income, in its population of 4.2 million
people, Antara reported yesterday.

Dr. Firdaus Bahauddin at the health ministry's provincial
office said many people with leprosy are reluctant to seek
medical treatment because of the stigma attached to the disease.

"People still see it as an incurable disease," he said.

All of the village health centers in the province have been
provided with adequate personnel and medication to treat leprosy,
he said. His office has also been intensifying its information
drive on leprosy, Bahauddin said, adding his hope that the
disease would be eradicated within four years. (swe)