A pygmy victim of leprosy. Photo iturionline.blogspot.com”/>
About 112 cases of leprosy have been recorded since last January in the territory of Moba (Tanganyika).
The supervisor of the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Program in the Moba health zone, Philippe Ndayile delivered these figures on Tuesday, August 23, to Radio Okapi:
“Since the beginning of the year until today, we have already recorded 112 cases of leprosy. In 2021 for the whole year, we had recorded 177 cases. While in 2020 we ended with 258 cases,” he said.
Philippe Ndayile deplores the fact that some patients show up in hospitals late, in a state of infirmity. This makes their treatment more difficult.
He said that the care of the sick is provided by the government.
“There are patients who come to the hospital late. They are already presenting for diagnosis with visible disabilities,” complained Philippe Ndayile.
He requests the intervention of the government in order to supply them with products for the treatment of leprosy.
“There are medicines that we administer to the sick. These include Prednisolone and Dexamethasone. It happens that for the moment, this drug is no longer available. We ask the government to supply us with the drug capable of preventing leprosy-related disabilities,” concluded the supervisor of the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Program in Moba.