” “"The latest figures on leprosy from the World Health Organisation (WHO) show signs of optimism, however we must keep fighting, aiming at eradicating the disease". These are the words of Marco Colizzi, president of the Italian Association Amici di Raul Follereau (Aifo), in an interview today with SIR, in the run-up to the 54th World Leper Day that falls on 28th January. "All through the 90s and the early 2000 he explained , the figures teetered between 5 and 6 thousand new cases a year. Then since 2003 the rate has fallen, and the downward trend seems to be steady, until rhe latest 2005 figures, which speak of just about 300 thousand new cases, which however are still a huge number". "The WHO he added thinks that in just a few years the disease might be defeated, at least as a public health issue. The problem is that for a long time leprosy has been concentrated in a few areas of the planet, so while it is non existent in Europe or the USA, India alone has over 200 thousand new cases a year, Brazil 40 thousand". "So he concluded a great final effort must be made in the fight against this disease. In the run-up to the World Leprosy Day, we would like to draw attention to the risk that such optimistic figures may make one think leprosy can already be dismissed".” “
