I signed up for an online elocution contest recently, and while I sorta bombed it (I was tensed okay? we barely had time!) I learned something new...
The topic given was Eradication and Elimination of Leprosy- The Indian Scenario. In case you are not familiar, Leprosy is a bacterial disease that affects either the skin or nervous system, sometimes both. It's treatable, but if left untreated for too long it can get really serious.
Well, apparently, Leprosy was almost eradicated completely in 2005. But, then, the government was like, Oh it's almost gone now! and then used all its resources for AIDS and TB, so almost all testing was stopped, until in 2015, more than 60% of leprosy cases WORLDWIDE were found to be in India.
The thing is, there's a LOT of stigma surrounding Leprosy. The disease is pretty apparent, so you can make out when someone has it. So, at first, many thought it could be easily spread (which is NOT true) and started isolating the patients. There are even laws that can be used to discriminate against these patients! The laws basically forbid them from travelling in public and working (Many organizations are working towards getting them struck down, though).
Honestly, I was pretty ashamed that I didn't know about this despite being a medical student, which just proves how much more awareness needs to be spread about this condition.
But, while I was reading about the stigma, it reminded me of many other diseases - HIV-AIDS, Tuberculosis, Mental Disorders and now, Covid-19. These are all diseases which are still prevalent in our society, despite many medicines being available to treat them.
All these diseases have different causes, but one thing in common- STIGMA. People isolate and avoid these patients, and that is making people hesitate to seek the proper care and treatment for these diseases. I'm sure you've read about Covid-19 patients running away from the testing centres, because they were afraid of being shunned from society.
Honestly, one thing you must know is that these diseases are NOT easy to cure. Take HIV for example- the medicines they need to take? They need to be taken LIFE LONG and it's not just one or two; At least 4 different tablets, with different schedules - some in the morning, some in night, some with food, some without; honestly just reading about it was so exhausting, I can't imagine how those affected cope with it. Also, the tablets need to be changed every few months (otherwise resistance builds up). And added to all this, there's this stupid stigma...?
I am a freaking 3rd year medical student, and yet there's so much I'm not aware of, despite these topics being there in our textbooks. All we learn about them is that they’re caused by so-and-so organisms, they’re treated with alllll these drugs, but is that really enough?
Our Government really needs to step up- It's like all they do is devote one day in the year for a particular disease and then dust off their hands as if they've cured it completely! (January 30th is World Leprosy Day and again- I had no idea)
Thinking about all this is making me wonder which is more deadlier: the disease itself, or the stigma around them?
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