Jordan has been hailed for a “historic milestone” in eliminating the age-old affliction.
Jordan has become the first country in the world to have eliminated leprosy, the World Health Organization announced Thursday.
There have been no locally-occurring cases of leprosy in the Middle Eastern country for more than 20 years, an independent team commissioned by WHO has verified.
“This success was made possible by the leadership of the Ministry of Health, the strong collaboration between WHO and the Ministry, and the technical support provided by WHO at all three levels,” Dr Jamela Al-Raiby, WHO representative in Jordan, said on Thursday.
“The elimination of this ancient disease in Jordan is a historic milestone in public health and a major success in efforts to eliminate leprosy globally,” said Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia and head of the organization’s Global Leprosy Programme.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also praised the government in Amman for the “An impressive milestone” in public health.
“Leprosy has affected humanity for millennia, but country by country we are stopping transmission and freeing individuals, families and communities from its suffering and stigma.” Tedros said.
The disease has been known since ancient times, when it was untreatable and caused a range of disabilities, from blindness to loss of limbs.
Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said:
Jordan’s achievement “will transform the discourse surrounding this ancient and stigmatizing disease,” and that Amman “It is an inspiration to other countries, encouraging them to step up their efforts and overcome barriers to achieve this remarkable feat.”
Both the WHO and the Jordanian Ministry of Health have stressed the importance of maintaining “robust surveillance systems” to detect possible new cases of the disease in the future.
Hansen’s disease, as it is officially known, is a bacterial infection. If left untreated, it can cause severe damage to the skin, peripheral nerves, soft tissues of the upper respiratory tract, and eyes. Leprosy is transmitted by droplets from the nose and mouth, but requires “close and prolonged contact for months” with the infected person and cannot be transmitted through casual contact, according to the WHO.
The international organization has classified it as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that still occurs in more than 120 countries. India, Brazil and Indonesia account for almost 80% of cases worldwide.
