LEPROSY IN INDIA: A Study in Medical Geography

Leprosy is still one of the major public health problems in developing countries. Among the top endemic countries, India accounts largest share of this infection. Although, the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) claimed that prevalence rate of leprosy has been drastically reduced due to the advent of Multi Drug Therapy (MDT), the reasons for the constant emergence of new cases even in the low endemic region remained unanswered. The present study in medical geography explores the problem of leprosy in context of the concepts of ‘Geogene’ and ‘Pathogene’ taken Vadodara in Gujarat as the sample district. The study emphasises interaction of biological process, environmental factors along with socio-cultural matrix of human behaviour that relates to disease causation. A map correlation approach has been adopted to explain correlations between leprosy and certain environmental conditions in context of spatial distributions. It also explains ecological approaches—how epidemiological, environmental and socio-economic conditions, alongwith disease transmission cycles, facilitate the persistence of disease, using flow and networks—to build predictive model of disease diffusion. The study offers geographical significance and explanations to the problems of leprosy related with family contact, sex distribution, BCG vaccination, location analysis and pattern of diffusion that helps to test related hypotheses. This systematic study provides an opportunity for the growing geographers to explore any infectious disease with an integrated approach. It also provides vital information to clinicians, epidemiologists, leprologists, social workers, sociologists, health policy and programme managers for designing a viable strategy to monitor, control and for total eradication of leprosy.