Current Status of Leprosy in the Rural Area of North Gresik, Indonesia After Eliminated Status Achieved: “Is Leprosy Truly Eliminated?”

Abstract

Introduction: This study aims to provide the current situation of leprosy prevalence and clinical findings in one of the endemic regions of North Gresik City that has already achieved elimination status. Leprosy remains a public health problem in some developing countries, including Indonesia. Indonesia, with two other big countries, India and Brazil, contributed 74% of all the new leprosy cases detected. Even though Indonesia achieved the elimination target from WHO in 2018, the endemic pockets are still scattered, and new cases remain detected each year. Methods: This study is a one-decade retrospective analysis descriptive record based on newly diagnosed cases of leprosy from 2010 until 2020. We use total data sampling of all newly diagnosed leprosy cases and analyze using SPSS. Result: This study found that newly diagnosed cases of leprosy are still discovered each year. 15.7% of newly diagnosed cases were children. MB type was dominated type in this study. MB types are statistically significant in male subjects (35.5%) diagnosed more than one year after the symptoms appear. 40.7% were found with deformity when first diagnosed. Conclusion: This study reports a high rate of contracting leprosy disease in children, with 15.7% of cases. It indicates that disease transmission remains high in the community and might be out of control. The new cases diagnosed dominated with MB type, and 40.7% had deformity when first diagnosed. There was a delayed diagnosis reported that could be caused by ineffective surveillance for early diagnosing new cases.

The impact of leprosy-related stigma and coping mechanisms of people affected: A qualitative study from a suburban area in Northern district of Gresik, Indonesia

“…A Suburban area in the Northern District of Gresik City was chosen because it is one of the endemic leprosy pocket areas in East Java where new cases of leprosy are detected annually. 14 The prevalence of leprosy in Gresik city was 1.24 cases per 10,000 population in 2011, including children (5-7%), with 12.38% of newly diagnosed leprosy patients having grade 2 physical disability. There are eight districts in Gresik city with a high leprosy burden.…”