BEIJING, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- China plans to invest
220 million yuan (28 million U.S. dollars) in building new leprosy hospitals and
renovate old ones, an official with the Ministry of Health said Sunday.
The last Sunday in January every year is World
Leprosy Day, which falls on Jan. 28 this year. It is also China's Leprosy Day.
The ministry will strengthen cooperation with the
Ministry of Finance, China Disabled Persons' Federation, and Ministry of Civil
Affairs in improving the living condition and medical treatment for leprosy
patients, Vice Minister of Health Wang Longde.
Wang and other officials visited leprosy patients in
Yunnan Province on the World Leprosy Day.
The government has been providing free treatment for
leprosy patients. But there are still 6,300 leprosy patients in the country, and
the number is increasing by 1,600 a year.
Most leprosy cases are found in Yunnan, Guizhou,
Sichuan, Hunan and Tibet. Children account for 2.1 percent of new cases.
Wang praised the efforts and contribution made by the
Yunan provincial government in the prevention and treatment of leprosy.
He said there exists discrimination toward leprosy.
China's Leprosy Day this year is themed with eradicating discrimination and
building a harmonious society.
Leprosy, which is one of the oldest recorded diseases
in the world -- first mentioned in writing in 600 B.C. -- causes deformities and
nerve damage. It incubates in the human body for up to 20 years and is
transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during contact with untreated,
infected sufferers.
However, it can be cured by a sustained year-long
antibiotic treatment.
The Chinese government has asked local authorities to
wage an education campaign about the prevention and control of the disease, and
called for the eradication of discrimination against leprosy patients.
Last July, the Ministry of Health published a leprosy
control plan, vowing to eradicate the disease in Anhui and Qinghai by 2008and in
Chongqing, Guangdong and Shaanxi by 2010.
