Cases of leprosy are increasing. This is how the data from the World Health Organization (WHO) released by the Fontilles Foundation this Thursday. Specifically, the detection of leprosy cases has increased by 10%, according to data from 143, while in Spain they have doubled.
During the year 2022 were notified to the State Leprosy Registry of the Carlos III Health Institute-National Epidemiology Center 10 new cases: 1 in Andalusia, 2 in Asturias, 2 in the Balearic Islands, 1 in Cantabria, 1 in the Valencian Community, 1 in Galicia, 1 in Murcia and 1 in La Rioja. while, in 2021 were notified 4 new cases: 3 in Andalusia and 1 in the Balearic Islands.
With everything, at the end of 2022 there were 19 people on treatment: 3 in Andalusia, 2 in Asturias, 4 in the Balearic Islands, 1 in Cantabria, 3 in the Valencian Community, 2 in Galicia, 1 in Madrid, 1 in Murcia, 1 in the Basque Country and 1 in La Rioja.
Worldwide leprosy recorded 140,594 new cases in 2021, latest year for which information exists. The figure represents an increase of 10 percent compared to the 128,405 cases located in 2020 and is accompanied by an increase in detections in children and with associated disabilities.
In fact, the number of affected people presenting disabilities visible at time of detection has increased by 18%going from 7,198 in 2020 to 8,492 in 2021, which represents 6% of new detections and places the disability rate at 1.1 cases per million inhabitants.
Undetected cases in 2020
According to the report, the increase in detections in 2021 is not a consequence of a strengthening of the detection campaigns by the countries involved, but rather the emergence of undetected cases during 2020 as a result of the confinements decreed to combat the Covid pandemic. -19 and the concentration of health resources in the treatment of people affected by the virus.
In fact, as the WHO itself has highlighted in its ‘Weekly Epidemiological Record’ magazine, «the probable increase in undetected cases can further compromise the state of patients disability and favor continued transmission.”