The leprosy disease continues to claim victims. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2021 more than 140,000 cases were diagnosed, but the disease has already been eradicated in Portugal. This Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of World Leprosy Day, established by the United Nations.
The first written references to the leprosy disease date back to 1500 BC Long considered a divine punishment, it was not until the 20th century, in the 1940s, that the first medicine was created: sulfone. However, the definitive cure for leprosy would only come from 1980.
A century earlier, in 1873, the Norwegian physician Gerhard Hansen identified the bacillus responsible for the disease. Despite medical advances and the prevention of the disease, which is not hereditary but contagious, according to the WHO, still in 2021, 140,594 new cases were diagnosed in 143 countries, namely India, Brazil, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique.
In an interview with TSF, Vítor Borges, president of the Associação Portuguesa Friends of Raoul Follereau (APARF), recalls that this association has existed since 1987 and operates in several countries: Mozambique, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau. In addition, it also supports other locations, such as Madagascar, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Vítor Borges adds that in Portugal “this disease no longer exists.” “It is completely eradicated in Portugal, the few cases that exist do not reach a dozen and are imported from other countries and treated by the National Health Service.”
APARF fights this disease, which still claims thousands of victims around the world, through donations.
Source: TSF
