INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEPROSY^ Volume 59, Number 2

Printed in the U.S.A.

NEWS and NOTES

This department furnishes information concerning institutions, organisations,and individuals engaged in work on leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases, andmakes note of scientific meetings and other wafters of interest.

India. Dr. Ganapati honored. The EighthAnnual Fr. Maschio Humanitarian Awardwas presented to Dr. R. Ganapati on 12February 1991 at Don Bosco, Matunga.Comprising a cash gift of Rs 10,000 and acitation conferring the title of Humanitar-ian, the award was personally presented bythe Very Rev. Fr. Aurelius Mashchio on theoccasion of his 82nd birthday. Fr. Maschio,a well-known Italian missionary, has ded-icated his entire life to the service of thepoor and downtrodden people of India eversince his arrival in 1924. Paying rich tributeto Padma Shri Dr. Ganapati for his selflessservice toward the eradication of leprosyand the rehabilitation of leprosy patients,Rev. Fr. Maschio recalled his long years ofactive association with the Acworth Lep-rosy Hospital at Wadala, where Dr. Gana-pati has done commendable work during his12 years of service. The function was wellattended by a large gathering of missionariesand leprosy detection and eradication pro-gram workers.

Dr. V. M. Katoch gives 8th (1991) ErwinSandi Memorial Oration. The oration, en-titled "Progress in understanding the lep-rosy bacillus with special reference to pa-tient care in leprosy," was presented by V.M. Katoch, M.D., Head, Department ofMicrobiology, Central JALMA Institute forLeprosy (ICMR), Agra, on 30 January 1991.The Greater Calcutta Leprosy Treatmentand Health Education Scheme hosted the1919 oration at the GRECALTES TrainingCenter in Calcutta. — Invitation from Dr. D.S. Chaudhury, Director.

Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation39th (1989-90) Annual Report. "One moreyear, the thirty nineth, in the life of the

GMLF has elapsed. Next year, we reach thematurity of the forty's.

"Each year brings out something new andsomething worth remembering the year by.This year too has left some pleasant mem-ories:

—The most important event of the year has been pre-senting the International Gandhi Award to two em-inent and deserving workers, Dr. M. F. Lechat andDr. R. V. Wardekar, at the hands of the Presidentof India on 29 January. This is the third award func-tion since it was instituted in 1985.

—The development of CSSRL has been quite satisfac-tory. It is now a well-established and well-recognizedcenter, in the country as well as globally. A projecton 'Evaluation of health education in NLEP,' is com-plete with the final report receiving approval of ICMRwho financed it. Another completed project is on'Rehabilitation of Leprosy Afflicted persons in War-dha District.' Two new projects were launched in theyear: one on acceptance level of leprosy patients inthe family and the other on psycho-social counsellingof leprosy patients; the latter project was inauguratedby Dr. M. F. Lechat, President of the InternationalLeprosy Union. The 'center organized a workshopon 'Social Research Methods for Study of TropicalDiseases (including Leprosy)' at the AdministrativeStaff College in Hyderabad in October. The centeralso brought out a unique publication 'Leprosy inIndia—a Statistical Compendium,' with 28 tables onhealth in general and 84 on leprosy problems andleprosy work in particular. This publication has beenwidely welcomed in India and abroad.

—The new Urban Leprosy Project at Calcutta couldbe launched from December. The area allotted to usin North Calcutta being a mix of middle class andslums is challenging in every respect: right from thestage of enumeration of population; examination ofpersons in the open as the house has no space (andlight enough) for two people to stand. It is indeedheartening to see how generous hearted people canbe in spite of stiffling living conditions. It is proposedto introduce two special inputs: measures for publicparticipation in case-detection, case-holding, healtheducation and rehabilitation; and social science re-search.

—The oldest unit of GMLF at Sevagram, which alsohappens to be the first unit under SET pattern inIndia, will complete next year four decades of its

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340^ International Journal of Leprosy^ 1991

work. Work has been started to bring out a verydetailed and exhaustive report of 40 years of leprosycontrol work. A small expert group of leprologistsand epidemiologists met together to advise GMLFon the parameters to be used and the analysis to bedone. Work on transferring all data from 1951 tocomputer has been started.

—The officers of DGHS have been suggesting that theGMLF should start a training course for smear tech-nicians for which there are inadequate training fa-cilities in India to meet the national requirement.The government gave its sanction in August, and itwas decided to admit candidates from next year.

—The much needed hospital with 10 beds could beconstructed and inaugurated on 28 September at theLeprosy Control Unit Balarampur. There was en-couraging support from local people and the inau-gural function was well attended.

—The GMLF introduced the Late Shri PrabhakarjiAward this year for best leprosy worker in AndhraPradesh. The first recepient of the award was ShriD. Kondala Rao, a veteran worker with 35 yearswork to his credit. The award was presented by theVice Chancellor of Andhra University in Visakha-patnam on 5 February.

"In spite of best efforts, everything doesnot always go well. This often happens inareas where decision from the Governmentis expected.

—Grants for SET work from Government of Indiacontinue to be erratic. At state levels also, applica-tion for grant for two control units are lying withstate health ministries for over 2 years without beingforwarded to Government of India.

— It is now 5 years that a research proposal to identifya suitable sampling technique for estimation of prev-alence of leprosy is still under consideration of ICMR.

—The handing over of the Mararikulam Control Unitto the Government of Kerala could not be completedduring the year as the state health ministry has notyet taken a firm decision.

—One of the continuing problems concerns recruit-ment of two categories: medical officers and healtheducation officers. The difficulty in recruiting andretaining services of medical officers is a problemfaced by all voluntary agencies. Inadequate paymentis surely a disincentive but, even in agencies whichoffer attractive salaries, the problem is acute. Similaris the experience in recruiting post-graduates of ma-ture age (over 30 years) to work as health educators.

"One poignantly sad event during the yearwas the passing away on 15 January of ShriR. R. Diwakar, member of GMLF. He hadthe longest association with the GMLF, ex-tending over 32 years, during which he waschairman for 15 years. He had a very softcorner for leprosy and his speeches even in

gatherings of leprosy workers were greatlyapplauded for the depth of insight in theissues involved. During many occasions ofcrisis, his advice was readily available andrespectfully accepted by others, helping theboat of GMLF to steer clear of troubledwaters. Even when he crossed the age of 90,he did not miss a meeting. We in GMLFare poorer for losing his fatherly protectiveumbrella and wise constructive counsel.

"Another sudden loss, keenly felt by hispatients and colleagues, was the unexpectedpassing away of Shri Madhukar Akaji In-gale. A man of deep sensibilities, he had anuncanny knack of endearing himself to ev-ery leprosy patient in a bond akin to kin-ship. He was troubled by social problemsof every patient and never rested until hecould bring about a reconcilliation with thespouse, the family, the neighbor or the em-ployer. The steady visits, lasting over weeks,of leprosy patients from near and far to ex-press condolences to Mr. Ingale was theirbest tribute to the man who cared for everyone of them.

"The GMLF has been a recepient of be-nevolent assistance from a number of agen-cies who deserve our thanks. The GermanLeprosy Relief Association has been sup-porting GMLF for over 25 years; the presentsupport being for our leprosy control unitin Balarampur. The Damien Foundation hasbeen helping with the work at the LeprosyControl Unit at Chilakalapalli, besides ex-tending a grant for one research project insocial science. The Leprosy Relief Organi-zation, Munich, extends help for a leprosyawareness program among youths, doctorsand other selected groups and also to someextent for CSSRL. LEPRA-India has comeforward with help for new Urban LeprosyProject at Calcutta. The WHO has been im-mensely helpful and supportive for theCSSRL on a continuing basis and has madegrants for higher professional trainingabroad. The Government of India is sup-porting the Balarampur Control Unit andthe Government of Maharashtra, the Lep-rosy Training Center at Wardha. The UnionMinistry of Welfare has supported one re-search project so also the ICMR. We arebeholden to all these agencies.

"There have been many groups in NCC,NSS, and Scouts and Guides as also hun-dreds of educational institutions who have

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come forward to collect local funds forGMLF. Numerous kind-hearted individu-als and charities, too, chose to contribute.We remember them with a sense of thank-fulness.

"Any institution is what its workers makeit. This applies to GMLF. It is our over 170workers who strive hard to keep the torchburning. They are our pillars: understandingand dependable. They deserve all appreci-ation and accolades coming the GMLF'sway."— Preface by S. P. Tare, Director

Spain. Fontilles 1991 InternationalCourses. XXXIV Curso Internacional deLeprologia para Misioneros y AuxiliaresSanitarios y XXVIII Curso Internacional deLepologia para Medicos tendra lugar en elSanatorio de Fontilles desde el dia 7 al 19de Octubre de 1991 y dia 4 al 9 de No-viembre de 1991, respectivo. Ademas deestos temas, se daran lecciones practicassobre las siguientes materias: DiagnOsticoprecoz, examen clinico, examen dermato-lOgico, examen nuerolOgico, tecnica para laobtenciOn de productos destinados a labo-ratorio, baciloscopia, tecnica para la colora-ciOn y diferenciaciOn del bacilo, biopsias,examenes histopatolOgicos, leprominoreacciOn y lectura de resultados, pruebas dela histamina y la pilocarpina, tratamientode enfermos ambulatorios, sesiones quiriar-gicas, presentaciOn de casos clinicos.

Los aspirantes a estos cursos deberan di-rigir sus instancias al Comite Ejecutivo In-ternacional, 3 Place Claparede, Ginebra,Suiza, antes del 30 de Junio de 1919 y almismotiempo al Dr. Jose Terencio de lasAguas, Sanatorio San Francisco de Borja,03791 Fontilles, Alicante, Espana.—Courseannouncements

Switzerland. Industry and WHO collab-orate in tropical disease research. Malariaand many other tropical diseases are in-creasing annually, and governments havebeen pressing researchers to find new an-swers to save lives, treat the sick, and stemthe spread of these scourges. But industryhas been pulling back from tropical diseaseresearch—as most of the 500 million peopleaffected with malaria, schistosomiasis,leishmaniasis, elephantiasis, river blind-ness, sleeping sickness, and Chagas disease

cannot pay the costs of developing expen-sive new drugs or control tools.

The beginnings of a solution may be athand, however, with the establishment of aproduct development unit in the UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme ofResearch and Training in Tropical Diseases(TDR), which supports or coordinates muchof the world's research on tropical disease.This unit will help to turn selected productsof research into deliverable disease treat-ment and control tools. Staffed by scientistsand managers with strong industrial expe-rience, and drawing on existing TDR ex-pertise and funds, the new unit will assistTDR:

—to focus its limited resources most efficiently on afew strategic products;

—to manage and speed up the progress of a promisingresearch result from the laboratory to the patients,through preclinical, clinical and field testing followedby registration as a safe and effective product;

—to make use of the many existing links with indus-try—and forge new ones—in order to ensure thatindustrial knowledge and research on thousands ofpotential new pharmaceutical compounds and otheragents can be brought into play against tropical dis-eases.

Already industry is showing increasedwillingness to cooperate. "I've been amazedat how industry has been coming forward —I've not seen such an interest in workingwith WHO in my 27 years of involvementwith the Organization," said Professor Bar-ry Bloom of the Albert Einstein College ofMedicine in the U.S.A., who is Chairmanof TDR's independent Scientific and Tech-nical Advisory Committee.

"We should be able to make use of thebest of industry and avoid the pitfalls," saidDr. Peter Reeve (former Executive Vice-President of a biotechnology company basedin California, U.S.A.) who has advised TDRon the establishment of the unit. "Com-panies are no longer willing to manage orfund the whole process of development oftools for tropical diseases," said Dr. Reeve,"but cooperation with TDR will mean theycan ensure that their research results andcompounds that might have an impact ontropical disease will not be wasted."

According to Dr. Tore Godal, Director ofTDR, "Companies involved would benefitfrom the association with a humanitarianproduct, and the sick will benefit from a cure

342^ International Journal of Leprosy^ 1991

or new preventive measures." — WorldHealth For. 11 (1990) 339.

TDR: Call for applications for support ofresearch training (1991). The UN DP/WorldBank/WHO Special Programme for Re-search and Training in Tropical Diseases(TDR), established in 1976, has two objec-tives. 1) research and development of newtools to control the TDR target diseases:malaria, filariasis, trypanosomiasis, leish-maniasis, schistosomiasis and leprosy, and2) strengthening of research capabilities incountries where these diseases are endemic.As an important way to achieve its secondobjective, TDR provides funding to trainresearch workers from disease-endemiccountries. TDR support enables researchworkers to acquire research skills related toone or more of the TDR target diseases orin a discipline related to these diseases, suchas molecular and cell biology, immunology,entomology, parasitology, epidemiology,clinical pharmacology, and the social sci-ences. Funding is available for opportuni-ties in established training programs forstudies leading to a doctoral level degree, orfor an individualized post-graduate pro-gram in a center which conducts researchin tropical diseases. Support for master'slevel courses will be considered in excep-tional cases.

The maximum duration of TDR supportfor research and training is 3 years. Thoseeligible to apply for research training in-clude: a) staff members of (i) institutionscurrently receiving one of the TDR insti-tution-strengthening grants and (ii) other in-stitutions where TDR support for suchgrants ended 2 to 3 years ago; b) scientistsfrom other institutions who are already en-gaged in research or committed to doingresearch on one or more of TDR's targetdiseases, and whose home institution isequipped with required research facilities;c) staff members of ministry of health dis-ease control services who are involved inplanning, executing and evaluating diseasecontrol programs related to TDR's targetdiseases; d) scientists who have had appro-priate postgraduate training in epidemiol-ogy, social sciences, and other field-orientedsubjects and who require practical, hands-on (postdoctoral) training in a research proj-

ect or suitable institution doing field re-search in one of TDR's target diseases; ande) scientists with postgraduate researchtraining who have been actively involvedin clinical, field or laboratory research inone of TDR's target diseases for a minimumof 5 years and who now want to spend aperiod of time in a suitable research centeror laboratory to upgrade their skills or tocarry out specialized experiments or dataanalyses.

Further enquiries: Dr. J. A. Hashmi, Spe-cial Programme for Research and Trainingin Tropical Diseases, WHO, 1211 Geneva27, Switzerland.

Thailand. 13th International Congress forTropical Medicine and Malaria. The 13thInternational Congress for Tropical Medi-cine and Malaria will be held 29 Novem-ber-4 December 1992 in Cholburi, Thai-land. For further details contact: CongressSecretariat, Faculty of Tropical Medicine,Mahidol University, 420/6 Rajvithi Rd.,Bangkok 10400, Thailand.

U.K. "Implementing Multiple Drug Ther-apy for Leprosy" to be reprinted. OXFAMPractical Guide Number 3 ImplementingMultiple Drug Therapy for Leprosy, origi-nally published in 1984 as "Questions andAnswers on the Implementation of MultipleDrug Therapy (MDT) for Leprosy," has nowsold out in its fourth edition (1988), but willbe reprinted as soon as possible. Since 1984,the English language edition has sold over5000 copies. The OXFAM translation inPortugese is no longer available, but the bookhas been translated into this language byCERPHA (Comisdo Evangelica de Reabi-litacdo de Pacientes de Hanseniase), RuaGuapeni 54/101, Caixa Postal 24046, Riode Janeiro, Brasil, and copies are availableon application to the Director. The bookhas been translated into Bengali by D. S.Chaudhury, Greater Calcutta LeprosyTreatment and Health Education Scheme,35/1/A, Old Ballygunge 1st Lane, Calcutta700 019, India, and many copies distributedto Bangladesh. A translation in Spanish(typed A4 size paper format) is availablefrom Professor Roberto Estrada, Centro deInvestigacion de Enfermedades Tropicales,Apdo. 25-A, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico,

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and one in French has just been completedby Dr. G. Le Gonidec, Association Fran-caise Raoul Follereau, 31 Rue de Dantzig,B.P. 79-75722, Paris 15, France and willsoon be printed for distribution, mainly toFrancophone countries in Africa. Furtherenquiries: Publications, OXFAM, 274 Ban-bury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ, England.

TAMILEP— Catalogue of teaching andlearning materials. Health workers in lep-rosy-endemic countries are faced with ashortage of suitable teaching and learningmaterials. Printed materials do exist, butoften do not reach the people who needthem. In order to overcome this problem,The Leprosy Mission International operatesa distribution service, and is in contact withhealth staff in 112 countries. This service iscarried out in cooperation with other mem-ber associations of ILEP (International Fed-eration of Anti-Leprosy Associations).

A revised catalogue is now available, andcontains information about 31 titles in En-glish, selected for those involved in leprosycontrol, patient care and training activities.Copies of the catalogue may be obtainedfrom: Teaching and Learning Materials, TheLeprosy Mission International, 80 Wind-mill Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8OQH, United Kingdom.

U.S.A. 18th World Congress of Derma-tology call for abstracts. The 18th WorldCongress of Dermatology Organizing Com-mittee and the International League of Der-matological Societies invite the submissionof abstracts for short communications to bepresented at the 18th World Congress, June12 through 18, 1992, in New York, N.Y.,U.S.A. Selected abstracts will be presentedin the following sessions: Case Presenta-tions, 4-minute presentations of clinicalcases of exceptional scientific and/or edu-cational interest; and Contributions to Clin-ical and Experimental Dermatology, oralpresentations of original contributions ofclinical, therapeutic, or laboratory investi-gations, and poster presentations of originalcontributions to clinical and laboratory in-vestigation that can be effectively displayedby illustrative material (graphs, charts, andtables). Authors are to be present during

specified times for discussion of the postedmaterial. Abstracts must be submitted onthe official congress abstract reproductionform and must be received before August1, 1991. Forms and submission guidelinesare available from: 18th World CongressSecretariat, 875 Kings Hwy, West Deptford,N. J. 08096, U.S.A.—Arch. Dermatol. 127(1991) 13.

18th World Congress of Dermatologyscholarships available. The 18th WorldCongress of Dermatology will take place inNew York, N. Y., U.S.A., from June 12through 18, 1992. In an effort to encouragethe participation of young dermatologists,the congress will award a limited number ofscholarships as follows: Dermatologists fromDeveloping Countries: Applicants must beolder than 38 years of age at the time of thecongress. The scholarship will provide com-plimentary registration and hotel accom-modations (two awardees to a room) and amoderate subsistence allowance. Awards arecompetitive and are contingent on spon-sorship by one's national society. Abstractsubmission is mandatory. Obtain furtherinformation and application forms fromyour national society before June 1, 1991.Dermatologists from Developed Countries:Applicant must be a resident or fellow in afull-time training program. The scholarshipwill provide complimentary registration anda small subsistence allowance. A letter fromthe educational or training institution val-idating the applicant's status must be sub-mitted with the application form. Abstractsubmission is mandatory. Forms are avail-able from: 18th World Congress Secretariat,875 Kings Hwy, West Deptford, N.J. 08096,U.S.A.—Arch. Dermatol. 127 (1991) 13.

Leprosy poster from ALM Internationaland Wellcome. There are available 150 setsof Wellcome Tropical Institute posters onleprosy consisting of nine main themes,which cover all aspects of the disease, incolor together with text. ALM is preparedto send a set free of charge to any bona fideapplicant but they reserve the right to ex-ercise judgment with regard to appropriate

344^ International Journal of Leprosy^ 1991

recipients. A covering letter from ALM willaccompany each set, together with a ques-tionnaire which should be completed by eachrecipient and which will greatly aid assess-ment of the value of these posters for teach-

ing and other purposes. The language is En-glish only. Apply to: Medical Consultant,American Leprosy Missions International,1 ALM Way, Greenville, South Carolina29601, U.S.A.