- Volume 57 , Number 1
- Page: 119–20
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.
India. Dermatology and Leprosy Research Institute. We are grateful to Mr. V. Peria Swami, Project Director of the above Institute, Main Road, Anakapalli-531 001, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh, India, for the following information:
"The Dermatology and Leprology Research Institute took root in November 1986. The building which lodges our Institute was donated by Dr. B. Narasimha Rao, the Director of this Institute. With funds released by Emmaus Swiss, we renovated the building to make it suitable for our work.
"We aim to enthuse private practitioners to treat leprosy patients in their own clinics and disseminate to them sufficient knowledge in diagnosis and treatment, as well as to impart knowledge about modern trends in diagnosis and treatment to undergraduates in medicine. Also, to improve the efficiency of trained nonmedical field workers, they have to be re-oriented in a scientific system of detecting early cases and in techniques to create awareness in the public about the curability of leprosy and the importance of mass cooperation.
"Our Institute is financially supported by Emmaus Swiss. We do not get any government grants. Our staff includes a qualified doctor, a project officer, senior paramedical worker, accountant, health education worker and physiotherapist. For teaching purposes we will follow the syllabus prepared by the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation (Wardha, India) which is recognized by the Government of India." -Lepr. Rev. 59 (1988) 238.
Orientation in Leprosy for Doctors. Drs. E. S. and R. H. Thangaraj and Dr. K. C. Das are the authors of this 28-page, well illustrated in color booklet published by the HKNS (1 Red Cross Road, New Delhi 110001, India). The booklet covers all important aspects of leprosy and should be invaluable not only for doctors but also for medical students, especially in India.
XVIAL Conference and New Officers. The XV biennial conference of the Indian Association of Leprologists (IAL) was held at Vishakapatnam from 18-20 December 1987. At the General Body meeting of the IAL held on 19 December 1987, the following new office-bearers were elected: President = Dr. R. Ganapati, Vice-Presidents = Dr. A. Thomas and Dr. M. V. Yellapurkar, Honorary Secretary = Dr. V. V. Dongre, Honorary Treasurer = Shri S. S. Naik, and Central Council Members = Drs. B. N. Mittal, K. V. Krishnamoorthy, V. M. Katoch, P. N. Neelan, D. S. Chaudhury and Lt. Col. V. D. Tiwari.
U.K. Change of address: The Leprosy Mission International. At the beginning of September 1988 The Leprosy Mission (International) moved to 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 0QH, U.K.
U.S.A. Leprosy cases. 1978-1987. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the following numbers of leprosy patients have been reported each year from 1987- 1978, respectively: 238, 270, 361, 290, 259, 250, 256, 223, 185, and 168.-MMWR 36 No. 54 1988 p. 53.
Regional Hansen's disease centers. The GWL Hansen's Disease Center (GWLHDC) at Carville, Louisiana, provides specialized HD care to persons from anywhere in the United States requiring such care. Any physician or HD patient having a problem or question concerning HD may call the GWLHDC by dialing Toll Free 1-800-642- 2477.
The Regional Hansen's Disease Program maintains an active physician referral list which includes more than 200 private physicians in all parts of the United States. For the name ofa physician in a particular area,contact the Regional Hansen's Discase Program at 1-800-642-2477 (in Louisiana, call 504-642-4746).
