Tawau: Seventy-two new leprosy cases were detected in Sabah until September last year, State Health Director, Datuk Dr Rahimah Mohd Said, said Wednesday."Detection of the new cases was made possible by the department's Rapid Population Survey conducted in Kota Kinabalu, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Tawau and Semporna," she said.
Speaking at the World Leprosy Day 2007 at the Community Nurses College here, Dr Rahimah said at the national level, some 264 new cases were detected, of which 30.3 per cent or 80 patients were from Sabah.
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She said that at the end of 2005, the number of registered patients undergoing treatment was 756, of which 17 per cent or 129 cases were registered in Sabah.
She disclosed that 60 per cent of the cases detected from 1995 to 2005 involved foreigners.
Dr Rahimah said the people's knowledge about leprosy and treatment had increased through education activities organised by the Health Department and Malaysian Leprosy Relief Association (MaLRA).
On the celebrations, she said its main objective was to instil awareness among the people on the importance of early detection of the disease as well as early treatment.
Among those present at the function were MaLRA Sabah Branch Chairman Ku Fui Men, Tawau Heath Officer Dr Prabakaran Dnaraj and Tawau Nurses Community College Principal Fatimah Yahya.
