Old problems still mar fight against ancient disease.

摘要

Jan 25 marks World Leprosy Day-an event that aims to publicise an ancient disease that still affects thousands of people worldwide.In the 1960s, the prevalence of leprosy hovered around the 11 million mark. Today, it is nearer 250000. An impressive decline, but there are still pockets of high endemicity. 2007-the most recent year for which records are available-saw 254425 new cases; 94% of which were from 17 countries. India's incidence stood at 137685, Brazil's at 39125, and Indonesia's at 17723. There are several unresolved issues concerning leprosy, some of which are as old as the disease itself, including stigmatisation and uncertainty over epidemiology.