- Volume 70 , Number 1
- Page: 49–56
News and notes
This department furnishes information concerning institutions, organizations, and individuals engaged in work on leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases, and makes note of scientific meetings and other matters of interest.
2001 DAMIEN-DUTTON AWARD
Dr. Wayne M. Meyers, left, presenting the 2001 Damien - Dutton Award to Prof. Michel Lechat. right.
On 4 February 2002 at the Catholic University of Louvain, Dr. Wayne M. Meyers, Medical Consultant to the Damien - Dutton Society, presented the Damien - Dutton Award for the year 2001 to Prof. Michel Lechat of Belgium. Dr. Meyers' remarks on the presentation are as follows.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Damien - Dutton Society for Leprosy Aid, and its President and Founder, Mr. Howard E. Crouch, it is my great privilege and honor to present the Damien - Dutton Award for the year 2001 to Prof. Emeritus Michel F. Lechat of the Catholic University of Louvain.
It is indeed appropriate to bestow this award virtually in the shadow of the tomb of one of those whom the Society and the Award are named. Father Damien.
It was the renowned Belgian leprologist, Dr. Franz Hemerijckx, the Damien - Dutton Awardee for 1968, who introduced Dr. Lechat to the rigors of leprosy work in rural tropical Africa. Then a medical student, in 1951 he crisscrossed the high - grass - lined paths of central Congo by bicycle, seeking out and treating leprosy patients with sulfone, the first regularly effective drug for leprosy. This experience set the course of Dr. Lechat's life - long passion for the cause of leprosy. With his wife Edith, he returned two years later as a physician and as the Medical Director at Iyonda Leprosarium in the Congo equatorial forest. There, over a 6 - year period, he did pioneering clinical research on numerous poorly understood topics in leprosy. Many here today will remember that lyonda Leprosarium was the setting for Graham Greene's book, "A Burnt - Out Case," with a principal character modeled after Dr. Lechat.
On his return from Congo in I960, Dr. Lechat went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (where 1 first met him), obtained his doctorate in Public Health, and began his distinguished career as a research epidemiologist with the world as his laboratory.
In 1983 Prof. Lechat became President of the School of Public Health of the Catholic University of Louvain, and Director of the WHO Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. Of his approximately 330 scientific publications, more than 200 concern leprosy.
Today Prof. Lechat is a highly regarded statesman serving in many capacities in, for example, the WHO, World Bank, United Nations. European Community, King Baudouin Foundation, Damien Foundation, and the National Academy of Science in Washington. He is the recipient of the Prix Broden Rodhain and the Gandhi International Award, and a member of the Royal Academy of Medicine (of Belgium) and of the Royal Academy of Overseas - Science. Among other offices, he has served as President of the International Leprosy Association and the International Leprosy Union.
In summary. Prof. Lechat, for half a century has served the cause of leprosy - especially the patient with leprosy - successively as a clinician, an academician, and now, if he will forgive the expression, as an elder statesman.
Michel, I congratulate you on becoming the most recent Damien - Dutton Awardee. You have added a large and luminous chapter to the annals of leprosy and the care of leprosy patients.
The Damien - Dutton Award plaque presented to Prof. Lechat reads as follows:
BRAZIL. 16th International Leprosy Congress. 4 - 9 August 2002; Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Contact: Conference secretariat, 16th International Leprosy Congress, Instituto Luaro de Souza Lima; Rodovia, Comandante João Ribeiro de Barros, Km. 225/226; Caixa Postal 3021, CEP 17001 - 970; Bauru, SP, Brazil; Fax: +55 - 14 - 221 - 5914; Email: brazil_leprosy@ilsl.br
India. Bombay Leprosy Project announces four significant events concerned with handicapped persons and their rehabilitation.
Physically Challenged Persons Observe Computer Literacy Day
In the wake of its Silver Jubilee Celebrations, Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) observed the World Computer Literacy Day, in collaboration with St. Angelo's Computers Ltd., Sion Branch on 2nd December 2001, to focus attention on the need for integrated education of persons disabled due to a variety of crippling diseases along with the healthy subjects. The venue was the Project's new Computer Training Centre at MHADA Colony, Pratiksha Nagar, Sion - Koliwada, Mumbai, established through munificent grants from the Government of Japan.
Dr. R. Ganapati, Director, BLP, said that the stigma associated with deforming diseases could be eliminated by such techniques of integration. A disabled polio patient Mr. Suhas Pore inaugurated the function.
Leprosy NGO Observes The International Day Of Disabled Persons
With the object of abolishing stigma, Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) has been propagating since 1992 the concept that leprosy agencies should observe World Disabled Day (WDD) with the same enthusiasm as they show towards World Leprosy Day (30th January).
This year the WDD had a special significance for Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) as it came in the wake of BLP's Silver Jubilee soon after the establishment of the Project's Vocational Training Centre in Pratiksha Nagar, Mumbai with munificient grants from the Government of Japan. WDD was observed at this venue on 5th December 2001.
Integrated Training Programme for the Leprosy Affected Persons Living in Mumbai Slums
Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP), organized a simple function at Bharat Nagar slum in Bandra (East), Mumbai on the 14th of January 2002 to mark the commencement of the 6th batch of Integrated Training Programme (ITP) in Computer science for leprosy affected persons. Chief Guest Shri
L. B. Mahajan, District Social Welfare Officer |Special |, Brihan Mumbai (Suburbs), Government of Maharashtra, inaugurated the training program and stressed the importance of registering with the Special Employment Exchange for disabled persons in order to avail the benefits of the welfare schemes of the Government. Dr. Amarsingh Thakur, Assistant Director of Health Services (Leprosy), Raigad District, Government of Maharashtra congratulated BLP for setting up an urban model of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and added that he will do his best to replicate the BLP model in rural areas of Raigad district.
Leprosy Disabled Bags Medal in State Athletic Meet
Six physically disabled and leprosy cured employees of BLP, for the first time, participated in the 18th Maharashtra State Athletic, Aquatic & Indoor Games Meet for the disabled held from 9th to 11th January 2002 at Priyadarshini Sports Complex, Nepean Sea Road, Mumbai. All these disabled persons took active part in a variety of sports such as Chess, Swimming, Carrom and track events. Mrs. Heera Tulsiram Kshirsagar, a leprosy - disabled individual of BLP received a Medal and a Certificate for bagging the 2nd prize in the 100 meters dash. This participation marked a significant milestone in BLP's 25 - year - old history.
India. The 22nd Biennial Conference of Indian Association of Leprologists held 24 November 2001 at Patna, Bihar, India, including a list of Central Council Members for the next two years, as follows:
The 22nd biennial meeting of the Indian Asson. of Leprologists was held in Hotel Chnnikya at Patna during 23rd to 25th November 2001. About 300 members attended the meeting.The meeting was inaugurated by Mr. Ashok Bhatt. Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of'Gujrat State. The conference had a feast of scientific program consisting of Panel Discussions, State of the art lectures. Free papers and Poster presentations.
The key note address was delivered by Prof. Ji Baohong who spoke on Chemotherapy of Leprosy.
For the panel discussion on 'Leprosy Elimination' the moderator was Dr. S. K. Noordeen. The speakers were Drs. N. S. Dharamshaktu and Jalal Uddin Ahmed, presenting the leprosy scenario of two countries, Drs. P. K. B. Patnaik and P. Krishnamoothy presenting the profile of leprosy in two states and Drs. C. R. Revankar and G. Rajan Babu, presenting the views of two pioneer NGOs. The moderator for the panel discussion on 'Future of Chemotherapy' was Dr. M. D. Gupte and the speakers were Drs. J i Baohong. Vithal Jadhav and Kiran Katoch.
There were two state of the art lectures. Prof. Bhushan Kumar spoke on 'Clinical Problems in Leprosy and Dr. H. Srinivasan. on 'Rehabilitation in Leprosy'.
As many as 60 papers have been presented as proffered papers grouped under the sessions on Control, Laboratory, Clinical, Rehabilitation and Social Aspects of the disease. The sessions were chaired by Drs. R. Ganapathi, V. M. Katoch, D. Porichha. W. van Brackel and P. K. B. Patnaik.
Ninety papers related to different aspects of the disease were displayed as posters for all the three days of the conference. Three prizes have been given to three posters judged - first, second and third on the merit of the presentation and content. The scientific committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. K. Noordeen functioned at Chennai and took meticulous care of the scientific component in terms of selection of papers, publication of abstracts and floor management. This was matched by the warm hospitality extended to the delegates by the organizing committee under the able stewardship of Profs. Mathura Prasad and Amarkant Jha Amar.
The Biennial General Body meetine of the IAL was held at 05.15 P.M. on 24th November 2001 at the same venue. Dr. S. K. Noordeen, the President of IAL chaired the meeting and extended a warm welcome to the members.
All the members stood in silence to pay homage to the departed souls of the following members of the Association and other important personalities who worked in the field of leprosy, as follows:
| Dr. J. A. Ponniah | Dr. Prof. D. K. Dastur | Mr. S. S. Naik |
| Dr. Prof. S. C. Sharma | Dr. Radha Bai | Dr. Chowdappa |
| Dr. Ebenezer Victor | Dr. Aschhoff | Dr. V. Kapoor |
| Shri. S. P. Tare | Dr. Ramalinga Swamy | Dr. Shushila Nayar |
| Dr. Jal Mehta | Dr. V. Kandasamy |
Other important decisions taken in the General Body Meeting were:
1. The Secretary informed the members about the Booklet on the "History of IAL" brought out by the IAL in view of the Golden Jubilee conference. General Body resolved to place on records its appreciation to Dr. S. S. Pandya for her work in writing this booklet within a short period of time collecting all relevant information.
2. Keeping in view, the financial position of the IAL it was further resolved that all the Overseas Members hereafter would subscribe to the journal directly from the HKNS after paying necessary mailing charges.
3. It was brought to the notice of the General Body regarding the decision of the HKNS to enhance the subscription rate of the journal from Rs. 40/ - to Rs. 200/ - . The matter was discussed at length and members felt that it is impossible for the IAL to meet the five - fold increase in the subscription rate of the Journal. In the present leprosy scenario in the country enrollment of new members to the IAL has reduced considerably. It is also not possible to collect additional subscription from the existing members to improve the financial position of the Association. As the funds available with the IAL are very limited and there is no other source to generate more funds it was resolved to request the HKNS to increase only 50% of the existing Annual Subscription rate i.e., Rs. 60/ - per year instead of Rs. 40/ - .
4. In view of the existing financial position, to provide the journal to all IAL members, it was resolved to enhance the annual subscription fee. For ordinary member it has been raised from Rs. 100 to Rs. 150/and for life member the one time contribution is Rs. 1500/ - in place of Rs 1000/ - . The new rates would come into force from January 2002 onwards.
5. It was resolved to place on record an appreciation for Dr. S. K. Noordeen, the President of IAL for the efforts he has put in collecting funds for the IAL.
6. The General Body resolved to place on record its appreciation to Dr. Bhushan Kumar the Organizing Secretary of 21st Biennial conference, Chandigarh and Dr. P. V. Dave, Organizing Secretary of the workshop at Varodora for depositin" the unspent amounts of Rs. 15,454.55 and Rs.36,000 respectively.
7. The General Body discussed in detail the bank balance, mailing cost and subscription rate of the journal to be paid to the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh (HKNS) every year and resolved unanimously to set up a Reserve Fund in the name of IAL. The proceeds of which will be utilized to pay the annual subscription bills of the HKNS. It was further resolved to utilize the unspent money of the IAL Conference and workshops to set up this Reserve Fund. Members agreed to keep this money in long term fixed deposits. It was also further resolved that Rs. 6 lakhs will be kept initially as Fixed Deposits for the purpose and this Reserve Fund would only be utilized in extraordinary situations with the consent of the members present in the General Body meeting.
8. The General Body recorded its appreciation and thanks to Dr. Amarkant Jha Amar, Organizing Secretary and his team for hosting the Golden Jubilee Conference with highly befitting and excellent arrangements at Patna.
9. The following Office Bearers and the members of the Central Council have been declared elected for the period 2001 - 2003.
President: Dr. Bhushan Kumar (Prof. & HOD, Dermatology, STD and Leprosy, PGIMER. Chandigarh 160012, Vice President: 1. Dr. Sreevatsa and 2. Dr. Mathura Prasad, Secretary: Dr. D. Porichha, Sr. Pathologist, Suit No 8, Medical Centre. Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi 110001. Treasurer: Dr. H. K. Kar, Consultant and HOD, Dermatology, Leprosy and STD, RML Hospital, New Delhi, I 10001. Members: 1. Dr. N. Manimozhi, 2. Dr Thomas Abraham, 3. Dr. S. K. Samanta, 4. Dr. V. K. Sharma, 5. Dr. V. V. Pai, 6. Dr. P. V. Dave. 7. Dr. R. S. Misra, 8. Dr. M. Mathew, 9. Dr. Sabyasachi Majumdar. Handing and taking over ceremony of the Office bearers took place smoothly. The newly elected Central Council met soon after assuming the charges and co - opted Drs. Amarkant Jha Amar, Sujai Suneetha, S. B. Taranekar, V. M. Katoch, P. K. B. Patnaik. P. R. Manglani, G. Rajan Babu and M. A. Arif.
10. It was decided unanimously after voting to hold the next 23rd Biennial Conference of IAL at Haldia, West Bengal during 2003. Dr. Swapan Kumar Samanta has agreed to organize the Conference.
The meeting ended with vote of thanks to the chair.
India. Scholarship Guidelines for the Dick Rees Memorial Fund.
SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES FOR THE DICK REES' MEMORIAL FUND
The LEPRA Medical Advisory Board, at its meeting in February 2001, had made a few changes to the guidelines for the Dick Rees' Memorial Fund. The revised guidelines are reproduced below.
Announcement
In honor of the late Dick Rees, LEPRA has decided to set up a training fund for those working in the field of leprosy. This fund will incorporate monies donated in his memory. Dick Rees was a leading researcher in the field of leprosy over a period of 25 years. He began his medical research career working on TB at the National Institute for Medical Research at Mills Hill, London, but gradually switched to research into leprosy. One of his major contributions to the effective treatment and cure of leprosy was his demonstration of primary and secondary drug resistance to existing drug treatments. This led to the development of multi - drug therapy by WHO in the early 1980s. He was made chairperson of LEPRA'S (The British Leprosy Relief Association) Medical Advisory Board in 1963 and was appointed Head of the Medical Research Council's Laboratory for Leprosy Research in 1969.
Here, he developed a source of live M. leprae bacteria by setting up â colony of infected armadillo. It is from this source that the latest research on the genome sequencing of the leprosy bacillus has been derived. Last October Dick Rees died at the age of 81. His scientific abilities and commitment to the cause of leprosy will be missed by all in the field of leprosy, particularly those working at LEPRA and WHO. Even after his retirement in 1982 he continued to work for both organizations, influencing and inspiring many to bring about a whole world without leprosy.
Circulation of Guidelines
This set of guidelines will be made available to all ILEP members and leprosy training institutions. It will be advertised in the Leprosy Review, the International Journal of Leprosy, the Indian Journal of Leprosy, CBR journals and on the internet. The target group for the scholarship is leprosy workers in the field who have had limited training opportunities.
APPLICATION PROCESS
1. Amount Available
£20,000 will be available each year. This may be split between a number of candidates. Selection will be based on the merit of the applications, making the best use of this limited amount of funding. Each award will be sufficient to cover the costs of the training selected, the travel and living costs for the duration of the training and, where justified, additional costs to facilitate access.
2. Scholarship Criteria
- Candidates should preferably be working in countries where leprosy is endemic.
- The training selected should enhance their ability to contribute to the field of leprosy.
- Candidates should have a commitment from their employer that they will release them for the duration of the training and keep their job open for them on their return.
- Candidates agree to any bond arrangements stipulated by their employer.
- The training selected normally should be no longer than 6 months.
- The training selected normally should be at the closest venue which offers the level of training, qualification and recognition sought by the candidate.
- The selected candidates will produce a report at the end of the training to indicate its value in relation to their expectations as outlined in their application.
3. Equal Opportunities
Consideration will be given to those who have justified additional costs which would facilitate their participation in their preferred training (for example, child care costs).
4. Application Details
Applications should include:
- CV of candidate
- Details of the training or course selected:
Training - or - Course
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1. Description of training |
1. Course name |
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2. Objectives - i.e., |
2. Course content |
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knowledge and practical |
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3. Venue |
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4. Pre - requisite training or qualifications |
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5. Cost of training |
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6. Estimated cost of travel/accommodation and living expenses and, where necessary, justified additional costs to facilitate access.
7. Duration
- Covering letter from candidates, indicating their career goals and how the training selected will enhance their ability to contribute to the field of leprosy and thirdly, why they should be considered for the award.
- A letter of recommendation from their current employer, indicating their willingness to release the candidate if they are selected for the award and agree to keep the job open for the candidate and stipulate any bond arrangements they would like to make.
- A reference from another employer or tutor.
- A letter of invitation or acceptance from the host of the training or course.
Prospective candidates for the award should apply in writing to:
Doug Soutar
LEPRA
Fairfax House
Causton Road
Colchester CO 1 1PU UK
Fax: +44 1206 762151
E - mail: Doug_Soutar@lepra.org.uk
5. Timing
Applications with all the above attachments can be sent to LEPRA at any time throughout the year. All applications will be assessed at the end of February each year. Successful candidates will be notified within three weeks of their selection for the award.
U.K. ILEP Newsletter "Connect, " No. 5 (February 2002). For more information contact: ILEP, 234 Blythe Road, London, W14 OHJ, web: www.ilep.org.uk ; e - mail: ilep@ilep.org.uk ; Tel: +44 (0)20 7602 6925; Fax:+44(0)20 7371 1621.
OBJECTIVES & TARGETS REVISED BY THE MEDICAL - SOCIAL COMMISSION (MSG) IN THE ILEP FIVE YEAR STRATEGY 1999 - 2003
Overall objectives
- MDT for all who need it.
- POD for all people affected by leprosy.
- Sustaining cost effective anti - leprosy activities through integration into general health services.
- Promoting physical and socioeconomic rehabilitation assistance to patients who need it through linkage with rehabilitation services.
- Continuation of essential research into leprosy, especially for prevention of the disease, even more efficient treatment, and prevention of disability.
Overall targets
Our long - term common target as a Federation is:
- To identify all people affected by leprosy and to ensure provision of appropriate services for them as early as possible.
By the end of the year 2003 we will accomplish this by.:
- Enabling at least 90% of the existing health facilities in endemic areas to deliver leprosy services.
- Providing disability assessment for at least 90% of the newly detected cases.
- Reducing the disability rate (grade 2) at detection to 10% or less.
- Reaching treatment completion rates of at least 85% for MB and PB patients.
U.K. ILEP, 234 Blythe Road, London, W14 OHJ, G.B.
ILEP Resources List and Recent Publications
We have pleasure in sending you copies of our most recent publications. In particular we would like to draw your attention to the ILEP Learning Guide 1: How to Diagnose and Treat Leprosy. This is the first in a new series of books for health professionals, which will include a range of information that health workers of different levels need to know when caring for people with leprosy. Each book is carefully developed and field - tested with health workers before publication.
Copies can be ordered free of charge from 1LEP by post or e - mail at books@ilep.org.uk
We encourage translation and adaptation of our materials. To facilitate this, recent publications including How to Diagnose and Treat Leprosy are available in pdf and quark format from ILEP and will soon be available on the ILEP web site www.ilep.org.uk . We hope you will be able to promote these resources in the International Journal of Leprosy.
- Dr Paul Saunderson
Chair of the ILEP Action Group on
Teaching and Learning Materials
Member of the ILEP Medico - Social
Commission
U.K. ILEP, 234 Blythe Road, London, WI4 OH J, G.B.
ILEP Technical Bulletin: The Interpretation of Epidemiological Indicators in Leprosy
We take pleasure in announcing the latest ILEPTechnical Bulletin: The Interpretation of Epidemiological Indicators in Leprosy. The Bulletin, written in response to a request from ILEP Members, outlines general principles of interpreting epidemiological data including possible pitfalls. Current ILEP indicators for MDT and prevention of disabilities are reviewed, together with a number of other useful indicators. It is aimed in particular at programme managers and others involved in the collection and analysis of epidemiological data in leprosy.
The Bulletin is now available in English and in French. A Portuguese version will be available later in 2002.
Copies can be ordered free of charge from ILEP by post or e - mail at books@ilep.org.uk and will soon be available on the ILEP web site www.ilep.org.uk .
U.S.A. 42nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 27 - 30 September 2002, San Diego, California, U.S.A. Contact: Meetings Department, American Society for Microbiology, 1325 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.. Washington, DC 20005 - 4171. U.S.A. Tel: +1 - 202 - 9429248; Fax: +1 - 202 - 942 - 9340; E - mail: meetingsinfo@asmusa.org
U.S.A. 40th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 24 - 27 October 2002. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Contact: Phil Bolin, Infectious Diseases Society of America, 99 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 210, Alexandria, VA 22314. U.S.A. Tel: +1 - 709 - 299 - 0200; Fax: 1 - 703 - 2990204: E - mail: info@idsociety.org