FORUM ON LEPROSY - YOUR BULLETIN BOARD

INTRODUCING THE SKILLICORN FAMILY "FORUM ON LEPROSY"

Following , is a letter of Congratulation that I hope you, too, will receive someday from "DELPHI" who have kindly provided us with the infrastructure necessary to conduct our own FORUM. Please e-mail me at - rkskilli@dove.mtx.net.au - if you wish to join (FREE), and I shall arrange for you to receive your own PASSWORD to access the Forum.

You may be wondering why it is necessary to conduct such a "FORUM ON LEPROSY". Well, it all comes about due to a declaration made by the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.)that, in areas once-endemic to leprosy, where the prevalence rate of the disease falls below 1 case per 10,000 by the turn of this century, leprosy-designated funds, normally channelled directly to leprosy clinics and hospitals, will be remitted to regular public health centres.

That is fine; we all long for integration, that those affected by leprosy may no longer be isolated from public life, HOWEVER, there are many medical personnel serving in regular public health facilities who have no knowledge about leprosy, being unable to diagnose, treat and manage difficult cases who suffer from "reactional states". Special expertise is also necessary in relation to the Prevention of Disabilities (P.O.D.) and the counselling and rehabilitation of those who have been psychologically affected by the stigma of the disease.

Because this will affect areas where the prevalence rate of the disease is low, does not mean that there will be no further cases of leprosy in those areas. Also please do not imagine that "Western" countries are immune to this disease; we are still finding positive cases in such places as the U.S.A., Europe, Australia etc.. Globally, approx. 600,000 new cases of leprosy are being detected annually !

Medical personnel, the world over, must be alerted to this need, so our Forum will enable you to equip yourself to face the year 2000 and make it possible for the W.H.O.'s plan to come to fruition.

With the present ease of transport and the mixing of races and cultures, we are now finding cases of leprosy in areas imagined to be immune from this disease, once thought to be confined only to "third-world" countries. If leprosy patients present themselves in the very early stages of the disease, it is possible for them to go undetected by the untrained clinician, allowing the disease to spread throughout their bodies, placing them at risk of serious nerve damage. It is nerve damage that is responsible for paralysis, deformities, blindness, ulceration and stigma.

The purpose of this Forum is to enable medical personnel and social workers, with no previous experience relating to leprosy, to gain diagnostic, treatment and management skills. Without such skills, it is possible to falsely diagnose as having leprosy, a patient who has one or more of many condition which resemble leprosy in its early and advanced stages. Because of the associated stigma of leprosy, to so falsely diagnose, is virtually to pronounce a death sentence,

To introduce you to the "DELPHI" systems, please read the following message which you will receive after you have joined. Now, please e-mail me at - skillicorn@ozemail.com.au - that I may arrange for your PASSWORD.

# CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR FORUM ON LEPROSY.

Thanks and Best Wishes,

KEITH SKILLICORN

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"Chat Room"

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VIRTUAL LIBRARY ON LEPROSY

THE CHALLENGE OF LEPROSY

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Send E-Mail to: skillicorn@ozemail.com.au