Strive to make Kurnool a leprosy-free dist
Collector holds district-level coordination committee meeting
Kurnool: District Collector Dr A Siri called upon all departments and health officials to work with collective responsibility to make Kurnool a leprosy-free district. She chaired the district-level coordination committee meeting on the implementation of the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) at Sunayana Auditorium in the Collectorate on Monday.
Addressing the meeting, Dr Siri said that the district administration is giving top priority to eradicating leprosy through awareness, early detection, and timely medical treatment. As part of the LCDC, to be conducted from November 17 to 30, medical and health personnel will visit every household across the district, conduct door-to-door surveys, and identify individuals showing symptoms of leprosy.
Those detected with symptoms will be immediately referred for medical care. The Collector emphasised that early detection and treatment can prevent deformities and help ensure complete recovery.
She directed officials to organide awareness programmes in all Anganwadi centres for children aged 2–6 years, as well as in schools, social welfare hostels, and colleges, to educate students about leprosy symptoms and preventive measures.
Dr Siri also instructed field staff to carry out wide publicity campaigns in both rural and urban wards to ensure full community participation. Later, she, along with Joint Collector Noorul Qamar, District Medical and Health Officer, and other committee members, unveiled wall posters promoting leprosy eradication messages.
District Leprosy, AIDS, and TB Officer Dr L Bhaskar explained that leprosy is completely curable through Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT), which is available free of cost at all Primary Health Centres and Urban Health Centres. He added that the government is determined to make India a leprosy-free nation by 2027.
District coordination committee members including Dr P Leena Reddy,Ward Medical Officer T H Reddy Babu, Deputy Paramedical Officers P T Chandrasekhar Reddy, Y Subrahmanyam, and other leprosy eradication staff were present at the meeting.
