Sylvia Namugerwa, 24, of Buikwe district, has been battling with leprosy for the last 17 years.
She says people look at her as unclean and don’t allow her to socialize with them for fear of infecting them.
“I was very beautiful, but I lost my beauty due to leprosy. The father of my three children also left me. People also shunned me because of the disfiguring skin sores and this stresses me, but if we are in our own camp as leprosy patients it can help us,” she says.
Then there is 74-year-old Patrick Mujjasi from Wabulungu B village in Mayuge district, who was dumped by family members at St Francis general hospital, a national leprosy referral centre in Buluba sub-county, Mayuge district.
He says leaving him at this facility was the best, given the mistreatment he suffered at home.
“My wife divorced me because of my appearance. I can’t dig, I am deformed, my fingers and toes became shortened. Both relatives and the community segregate against me and can’t even eat with me,” he laments. “I appeal to government to establish a camp for people suffering from leprosy.”
Most leprosy patients share Mujjasi’s and Namugerwa’s sentiments. Leprosy, also known as the Hansen’s disease, is a chronic infectious disease that primarily affects the peripheral nerves, skin, upper respiratory tract, eyes, and nasal mucosa (lining of the nose).
St Francis general hospital administrators say they are registering a rise in the number of leprosy patients. Henry Katende, the facility superintendent, says they are overwhelmed by both patients and former patients who have been abandoned by their relatives.
He says unfortunately, many patients show up for treatment when it is too late, because few hospitals do screening for leprosy and sometimes misdiagnose due to lack of adequate information about the disease many thought was eradicated.
“In 2016, we received 41 leprosy patients compared to 25 in 2015, an indication of increase in the number of patients with the diseases. One person per every 100,000 are suffering from leprosy in Uganda,’’ he said.
And now the future of leprosy patients is uncertain, since the main funder, the German Leprosy Relief Association, is withdrawing this year.
“German Leprosy Relief Association [has been] paying staff, supplying medicine, dressing and feeding. One of the reasons for their withdrawal is that the hospital has since become a general hospital yet their mission was only leprosy,” he said.
Katende said leprosy affects mainly three body parts: hands, feet and the face, which makes the patient unable to close the eyes and prone to injuries.
“Leprosy is a chronically infections bacterial disease. Early detection remains the best way to minimize its spread, because once detected and put on treatment, spread is minimized and the patient’s immunity remains strong to counter other infections. But if left untreated, it can progressively cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes,” he said.
The cardinal symptom of a leprosy infection include ring worm-like patches, muscle weakness, pain in certain body parts that can cause numbness in the hands, arms, feet and legs, and skin lesions.
Its incubation period ranges from three years to 30.
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