Around 76% of people affected by leprosy (PAL) in Bangladesh are facing a severe financial crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study by The Leprosy Mission International Bangladesh (TLMIB).

The finding was disclosed at a workshop on "Leprosy Research Dissemination" in Dhaka Sunday, jointly arranged by National Leprosy Program (NLP) and TLMIB.

The study titled "An assessment of Covid-19 impact on persons affected by leprosy in Bangladesh" was conducted by TLMIB which was funded by the Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (Norec).

Professor Dr Md Shamiul Islam, director of micro bacterial disease control (MBDC) at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), presided over the meeting. Dr Md Enamul Haque, deputy director of MBDC and manager of NLP, attended it as the chief guest.

READ: Leprosy still infects 4000 people every year in Bangladesh

A research team under the leadership of Jiptha Boiragee, programme support coordinator of TLMIB, conducted the research during March-August this year.

The research findings presented by Roton Malo, project officer of TLMIB, shows that 26% of leprosy-affected persons had no source of income during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, 47.85% of PAL had no income source for 1 to 10 months during the pandemic. Only 26.27% of PAL had a regular working opportunity for survival.

Also, 46.61% of families of persons affected by leprosy faced food shortage during the pandemic while eight out of 255 respondents (51% men and 49% women) said they married off their under-aged girls to cut family expenses.

The study conducted in 17 districts from all eight divisions also reveals that 89.8% of people affected by leprosy could not go to hospitals for needed leprosy-related services due to movement restrictions.

Also, 35.62% of PAL with leprosy-related ulcer stayed home without services during the pandemic; 23.62% PAL received ulcer care at government hospitals, Roton said while presenting the findings.

READ: 85pc Bangladeshi leprosy disabled people psychologically ill: Study

In addition, until July 2021, no leprosy patient in Bangladesh was vaccinated while 43% of PAL disagreed to be vaccinated and 42% of family members of PAL said their PAL member "does not need to be vaccinated."

Discussants at the research dissemination event emphasised mass awareness programmes by NLP, partnering organisations to motivate PAL and their family members to get vaccinated to be safe from Covid infections.

Also, the study found 27% of persons affected by leprosy having major depression while 5% were living with minor depression and the well-being status of 49% PAL started to reduce.

The TLMIB research team used the WHO-5 Well-being Index to examine the mental health status of PAL.

At the event, Dr Samiul Islam directed the programme manager of NLP and other officials to take necessary steps to ensure smooth services for people affected by leprosy in Bangladesh.

Researchers of TLMIB also disclosed findings of two more medical research titled "Effectiveness of single-dose rifampicin after BCG vaccination to prevent leprosy in close contacts of patients with newly diagnosed leprosy: A cluster randomised controlled trial," and "Patients with skin smear positive leprosy in Bangladesh are the main risk factor for leprosy development: 21-year follow-up in the household contact study (COCOA)."

Dr Abu Sufian Chowdhury, research coordinator of TLMIB, and Md Khorshed Alam, project manager of TLMIB, presented the findings of two medical studies.

Salomon Sumon Halder, country director of TLMIB; Dr Md Shafiqul Islam, former deputy director MBDC and programme manager of NLP; Dr Safir Uddin Ahmed, Dr Sheikh Abdul Hadi, ex-DPM, Leprosy; Dr Nayma Haque, DPM and coordinator, Leprosy; Dr Sabera Sultana, national professional officer, NTD at the World Health Organization; Dr Adnan Rassel, DPM, training and logistics; Dr Md Sohel Rana, assistant director, leprosy; Dr Shahed Hossain, consultant scientist of the (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddrb) were also present at the event.