Leprosy Diagnosis
& Treatment
Who we help
NLT's Leprosy Hospital and Services Centre at Lalgadh (LLHSC), southeast Nepal, mainly serves the 2.7 million people in the four surrounding districts where leprosy is most endemic. However, many patients come from much farther away, including India.
The waiting area is often crammed full of patients, some of whom will have travelled for several days to get there. The record number of patient visits in one day is currently 904. In a single year we can receive over 90,000 visits to the centre.
Leprosy services
LLHSC provides examination and diagnostic services such as sensory testing and laboratory services for a range of leprosy-related and other conditions.
Outpatient treatment services include multi-drug therapy (MDT), prevention of disability (POD), podiatry (foot-care), specialized footwear including orthotics and physiotherapy.
Inpatient services include the treatment of reaction, neuritis and the other serious complications of leprosy. Some of the treatment includes various kinds of surgery for the complex ulcers seen, nerve decompression, etc, and reconstructive surgery to correct deformity, and restore lost function to hands and feet.
Keeping track
In the background, there is the challenging job of recording all the patients and ensuring that their treatment is monitored and managed. In the 20 years or so since records began at Lalgadh, we have collected records for about 35,000 individual people who have been treated for leprosy at Lalgadh. Many of those come back from time to time for follow-up and further help.
Satellite clinics
To make it easier for people affected by leprosy who live in the rural parts of the area around us, and who need to access the services of Lalgadh, a number of satellite clinics have been established.
These clinics operate at strategic locations in our work area and teams of up to five staff regularly visit the clinics to provide specialist services at a local level. In the first year of these clinics, there were nearly 800 visits to them by people needing help. A few years later this number has risen to almost 3,500.
Planning for the future
LLHSC also works closely with the Leprosy Control Programme of Nepal to ensure that the combined efforts of LLHSC and the Government services can deliver the maximum benefits. The Centre at Lalgadh records over 35% of all the new leprosy cases identified in Nepal, and is one of the two busiest centres in the world with regard to new cases.
The facility has been enlarged to improve some of the services - in particular the Mother and Child Health services, and to give more inpatient space - especially for patients requiring isolation. A new children's ward has been added to improve the accommodation for children and this has been decorated to be child-friendly.
Empowering for life
Help us make a difference
