02091nas a2200169   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653005700054653002100111100001200132700001300144245010400157300000600261490000600267520163400273022001401907       2022                            d  bMedknow10aGeneral Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10aGeneral Medicine1 aSingh P1 aSharma M00aEpidemiological scenario of leprosy in marginalized communities of India: Focus on scheduled tribes  a00 v03 a<p>The Scheduled Tribes (STs) are designated among the most disadvantaged social groups in India. Until the year 2005 (pre-elimination era of leprosy in India), several leprosy-specific control field programmes were implemented, which have been discontinued subsequently. Since then, leprosy diagnosis and treatment have been integrated with General Health Services. Thereafter, specialized expertise for the early diagnosis of leprosy has been gradually diminishing, especially at the peripheral clinics in remote areas. Hence, leprosy cases usually remain undetected for a long time and persist as endemic reservoirs. The tribal population of India accounts for just 8.6 per cent of the overall population. However, 18.5 per cent of the new leprosy cases were detected within the tribal community in the year 2020, indicating a disproportionately high burden of leprosy among the tribal population. Recent data suggest that these health disparities can be mainly related to the increased marginalization of STs as compared to other communities. This shows the need to further explore the current situation of leprosy in STs so that suitable interventions can address the contributing factors, leading to health inequalities in disadvantaged socio-economic groups. Therefore, this review aims to present the current distribution of leprosy in marginalized communities with a special emphasis on STs. Further, this review discusses how resources might be mobilized for such communities to find and treat undetected leprosy patients in STs to enable effective control of leprosy through early detection and timely treatment.</p>
  a0971-5916