Four years in Kazakhstan there are no new cases of leprosy

January 28, 2022

January 30 is World Leprosy Day. In Kazakhstan today there are 297 patients with leprosy (Hansen's disease) and 220 contact persons.

The country has seen a decrease in the incidence of leprosy. Over the past 10 years, 5 patients have been identified, with a relapse of the disease - 4 patients. Today there are no children and adolescents among the patients. The average age of those registered is 68 years old, the youngest is 40 years old, and the oldest is 91 years old. Only the older population suffers from leprosy, which is typical for dying foci of this infection.

In Kazakhstan, leprosy began to be treated almost a hundred years ago, since 1929, when a decision was made by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to organize a leper colony in the Kazakh SSR. Today, the Kazakh Republican Leprosarium is a specialized medical institution of a special type, which provides not only specific treatment, but also the rehabilitation of its patients. The leper colony is located in the Kyzylorda region and has two dispensaries. Among the patients there are disabled people who need constant medical care, the homeless, abandoned, sick without relatives and without a fixed place of residence, who also need social shelter. Clinical examination of patients with leprosy is carried out for life due to the risk of relapse.Throughout the history of the treatment of leprosy, doctors in the country have used various tactics. Initially, the activities were aimed mainly at identifying and isolating patients. Then the task of conducting chemotherapy came to the fore. Currently, the prevention of leprosy is relevant - the prevention of disability and the rehabilitation of patients.- Today, an important role is given to the prevention of the disease. However, the problems of early preclinical prevention of leprosy, unfortunately, are still under study. At the same time, the priority task remains secondary prevention, treatment of the consequences (complications) of leprosy, prevention of relapses of the disease, - says Asylkhan Abishev, director of the Kazakh Scientific Center for Dermatology and Infectious Diseases of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KSCDIZ).Doctors note stigma and leprophobia in relation to patients, not only among the population, but also among medical workers. This has a negative impact on patients receiving full-fledged medical and social assistance.According to the definition of international organizations, leprosy-endemic regions of Kazakhstan belong to the territories of ecological disaster, where people with severe immune deficiency live. This creates an increased risk of the possibility of the disease.

all news »