- More than 3,00,000 people were reached through this safar
- Most leprosy cases are from Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra.
- Skin Safar saw chronic cases as high as 95% and recurrent cases as high as 60%.
- Family members were affected up to 70% and more than 80% of child cases have an affected adult in family. Also, 50-70% have used steroid creams for fungal infections.”
New Delhi, February 24, 2019: IADVL SKIN SAFAR, organised by Indian Association of Dermatologists Venereologists & Leprologists (IADVL), came back after a 2-month long journey. The event marked the round off ceremony of the journey at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi.
The rath covered 18 states, 54 cities/towns/villages, 200 plus stop overs in 12000 km, in 63 days.
Dr Rohit Batra, Dermatologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Chairman, IADVL People Connect Cell (2018), said, “Approximately 3000 dermatologists were associated with this safar. More than 3,00,000 people were reached through this safar. The van covered different regions of the country like Delhi-Gurugram-Karnal-Sonipat, Surat, Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Pune-Goa-Bangalore-Chennai-Hyderabad-Kolkata-Guwahati-Patna-Lucknow-Gwalior-Agra-Noida etc. The whole idea was to make India aware and to educate about skin problems, myths and facts about skin and hair conditions like leprosy and vitiligo. The Rath educated public on hygienic measures, do’s and don’ts and provided education leaflets.”
Talking about the prevalence of leprosy in the country and the demographic segregation of the same Dr Dinesh Kumar Devaraj, Joint Secretary IADVL (2018), said, “There are high endemic pockets of leprosy being identified, so it is in pockets. Both factors unique to the organism, clinical presentation and due to lack of public awareness there is a delay in diagnosis of leprosy. According to the WHO data from 31/8/2018 total number of leprosy cases in India from April 2017-march 2018 is 126164 and the registered prevalence is 90709. Most leprosy cases are from Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra.”
One of the other diseases that was seen is Vitiligo. More than 10 million Indians suffer from vitiligo. Dr Rohit Batra added, “Even though the prevalence of vitiligo is 1-2% of the general population but we observed that out of all the people approached by the Rath it was more than 5%.”.
Talking about fungal infection observed during the safar Dr Mukesh Girdhar, National Vice President, IADVL (2018), said, “Although the Rath travelled in winter months there were a lot of patients suffering from fungal infections. We saw chronic cases as high as 95% and recurrent cases as high as 60%. Family members were affected up to 70% and more than 80% of child cases have an affected adult in family. Also, 50-70% have used steroid creams for fungal infections.”
Commenting further on this issue observed during the safar Dr Girdhar added that the quackery is of major concern in these situations where Schedule H drugs are prescribed by unqualified people (Read Quacks). But unfortunately, there are several constraints like connectivity issues, shortage of doctors in the rural areas, etc, that leads to the prevalence of quackery in our country. Doctors without the required professional qualification and degree not only cannot address the medical issue but also makes the condition of the patient worst. Further, according to recently released medical reports over 50% ‘doctors’ in country are practising without formal degree.”
Dr Rishi Parashar, National Vice President, IADVL (2019) said, “So the main of the Skin Safar Rath was to educate masses that was definitely achieved with great success. We hope that the 3.0 lakh people we educated will act as ambassadors in further propagating the knowledge we shared with them. Skin Safar by IADVL was surely successful in marking a milestone in the history of not only dermatology but public health awareness initiative undertaken by any non-governmental organisation.”
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
