02840nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002000055653001100075653001000086653001200096653002900108653001700137100001300154700001600167700001400183700001800197245009100215856005900306300001100365490000700376050003200383520214500415022001402560       1991                            d  c1991 Sep10aHealth Services10aHumans10aIndia10aleprosy10aOrganizations, Nonprofit10aUrban Health1 aSamy A A1 aMancheril J1 aManek K P1 aMcDougall A C00aALERT-India 1981-89: nine years' experience of leprosy control in the slums of Bombay.  uhttp://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/1991/v62n3/pdf/v62n3a11.pdf  a315-280 v62  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>Bombay has a population of about 8 million people, one-half of whom live in slums. In 1981, ALERT-India started its first leprosy control project in N, S and T Wards of Greater Bombay Municipal Corporation covering an area of 122 sq km in the north-eastern suburbs of Vidhyavihar, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, Bhandup and Mulund, with a total population of 1,100,000 according to the 1981 census. In the 9 years of operation, over 12,000 patients have been registered and treated and of these 7425 have been released from treatment, having satisfactorily completed courses of chemotherapy. However, over 1000 cases are still identified every year by house-to-house or school surveys, or by self-reporting, including a considerable percentage in children. The origin, development, staff structure, operational procedure, administration and recording system of ALERT-India are described in detail, with emphasis on what has been accomplished with purely outpatient facilities, using paramedical workers, all of whom have received inservice training from Government recognized training centres for their specific tasks. The account includes a brief description of an expansion of the organization's work into townships in New Bombay, where preliminary surveys in 1988 confirmed the presence of leprosy cases and the need for treatment facilities. The discussion addresses: 1, the better use of the large volume of statistical information which has been collected by ALERT-India during the past 9 years, with emphasis on its value in assessing the impact on the control programme and modifying future policy; 2, the need to radically examine the present policy of survey, versus an 'education campaign approach' with regard to increasing early case-detection and self-reporting; 3, the establishment of a central coordinating body for leprosy control in Bombay to exchange information, coordinate efforts and formulate a future plan of action, the latter in association with the National Leprosy Eradication Programme; and 4, the development of a health education resource centre in association with the Bombay Municipal Corporation.</p>  a0305-7518