Town struggles to fight leprosy

Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

The number of people who have contracted leprosy has continued to increase in the regency of South Hulu Sungai, South Kalimantan, where more than 700 cases have been recorded, local officials said on Thursday.

They said the disease has infected at least 708 people between 1999 and last year in the city with the prevalence of 33 sufferers per 10,000 local residents.

The number means South Hulu Sungai has the highest incidence of leprosy in the country.

"Some of the lepers have been treated with a drug cocktail. We hope this therapy will be able to reduce the spread of leprosy in South Hulu Sungai," local health office head Garsmedi said.

In another effort to prevent the disease from spreading further, the regency administration has created a Leprosy Hamlet to accommodate the sufferers.

In this facility, not only are the lepers provided with medical treatment, but also working skills.

"It is part of our efforts to free the regency from leprosy. The disease causes psychological problems for its sufferers, which leads them to be isolated from other members of the community," South Hulu Sungai Regent Saidul Hudarie said.

He said such isolation continued, even when they recovered from the disease.

"This condition retards the socio-economic life of former lepers," the regent added.

He said that for those declared free from leprosy, the local government continued to give them occasional medical checkups to guard against the possible return of the disease.

They also received skills training for small-sized industries, with which they would be able to make a living, Saidul said.