Health officials in Oaxaca have identified five cases of leprosy in the state’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec region.

The infectious disease that damages the skin and peripheral nerves has not been considered a public health problem in Mexico since 2018.

It can cause irreparable damage if not treated early enough, but authorities said that all five cases have been detected in time and the patients have responded positively to treatment.

According to the officials, two of the patients are located in Juchitán, two in Asunción Ixtaltepec and one in San Blas Tenampa.

This is not the first time the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has seen an outbreak of the disease. Five cases were detected in 2018: three in Santiago Niltepec, one in Xadani and one in Juchitán.

The region saw 170 cases of leprosy from 2000 to 2019, lasting from a year and a half to two years. The majority were successfully treated,

The most at-risk population was the elderly, with 30.7% of the patients aged 65 years or older. Children aged 5-14 years old were the least affected by the disease.

Since 2018, Mexico has maintained a rate of one case per every 10,000 residents nationally, prompting federal authorities to deem leprosy no longer a public health concern.

The states with the highest rates of the disease in that year were Guerrero, Oaxaca, Jalisco, Sinaloa and Michoacán.

Source: El Universal (sp)