Mumbai: About 494 children in Maharashtra have been detected with leprosy, the highest in the country. The data accessed by The Asian Age was collected by the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) as part of a month-long special campaign to check on leprosy in the state. The campaign, a step by the Union government to help eradicate leprosy, further revealed that Maharshtra has seen 3,855 “hidden” cases across 16 districts in the state, taking the total number of cases till October to 13,000.

The campaign, part of the WHO’s Global Leprosy Strategy 2016-2020, was spearheaded by the NLEP and was done by ASHA workers and doctors conducting a door-to-door visit of 16 districts in the state. The districts that feature in the high-prevalence list for leprosy cases include Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Nashik and Nagpur. Incidentally, Palghar has recorded the highest number of cases at 523.

Speaking to The Asian Age, Dr Sanjeev Kamble, joint director of health services (leprosy and TB), said the campaign started on September 19 after a careful selection of the districts. “We had 99,417 suspected cases and out of these 3,855 cases were tested positive for leprosy. We tested adults and children both by visiting every house in the selected districts,” Dr Kamble said. He added that they found 494 children to be suffering from leprosy. “All the children detected were in the age group of one to 12 years. We have recorded the highest number of child leprosy cases in the country,” he said.

With respect to overall figures, the data showed that Maharashtra is third in the country with 3,855 cases, with Bihar recording the highest number with 4,526 cases followed by Odisha with 4,399. He added that they were also dispensing treatment to those who have come in close proximity of all the patients.