Buhera, Chipinge leprosy hotspots

BUHERA and Chipinge districts remain some of Manicaland’s hotspots for leprosy, an official from the Ministry of Health and Child Care has said.

Speaking during a virtual seminar held last week, Leprosy Focal person, Dr Nicholas Siziba said the two districts remain hotspots for the neglected tropical disease in the country despite them having recorded no cases in the past year.

Buhera and Chipinge recorded two cases between 2012 and 2017.

Other hotspots in the country include Matopos, Bulilima, Hwange, Binga, Makonde, Zvimba, Banket, Karoi, Chiredzi South, Bikita, Gutu, Gokwe, Mudzi, Mutoko, Rushinga, Mbire and Guruve.

In 2020, 15 cases were recorded nationwide and in 2021, only four cases were recorded.

Dr Siziba said as the country joined the world in commemorating World Leprosy Day last week, the day’s theme, “United for dignity,” should be observed every day

He said the country achieved the World Health Organisation (WHO) elimination target of one case per 10 000 people in 1987.

“After achieving the WHO elimination target in 1987, Zimbabwe eliminated leprosy as a public health problem. However, it became a cause for concern when we recorded 12 new cases between 2017 and 2021 in Matabeleland North. This has been the highest number recorded in one district so far, ” said Dr Siziba.

Mashonaland Central recorded four cases between 2015 and 2020, while Mashonaland East had two cases in 2021.

“The 12 new cases came as a shock and have prompted the Ministry of Health and Child Care to revive leprosy testing and diagnosis programmes nationwide,” said Dr Siziba.

He said the country is operating without a leprosy referral centre since the only one which is Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said this could have been one of the reasons for the cases that were not detected in Buhera, Chipinge and other hotspots in recent years as people were restricted in travelling.

Dr Siziba added that considering that screening and diagnosis of leprosy is very low, it is suspected that there are some undiagnosed leprosy cases in the country’s hotspots.

“The vision according to the 2015-2020 global leprosy strategy is that of a leprosy free world where there is zero leprosy diseases and zero transmission, zero disabilities due to leprosy and zero stigma and discrimination, but we will have trouble achieving this if the national leprosy programme remains inactive,” said Dr Siziba.

He said as a country, Zimbabwe has a target to treat at least 85 percent of people diagnosed with marlboro-bacillary leprosy.

Dr Siziba said there has been a 95 percent success rate in treating pauci-bacillary leprosy cases in the country.