Employment status of leprosy patients with deformities in a suburban slum.

In a poor slum area in suburban Bombay, a study of 129 leprosy patients with deformities revealed that only 46% were employed before the appearance of deformities and most of them had lost their jobs after deformities had appeared. Health education on care of anesthetic extremities did not have the desired impact on the patients, many of them had worsening of their deformities during the phase of their employment because they had to take up any kind of work in order to make a living. They were mostly poorly educated and lacked special skills. The only feasible alternative in this kind of situation appears to be a selective community-based rehabilitation of leprosy patients with deformities.