Leprosy a lingering scourge.(Vatican)(Brief article)

Vatican City -- January 29 2006 was recognized as the 53rd World Day of Leprosy. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers in a message to bishops responsible for pastoral health care warned that a drop in the number of lepers worldwide must not lead to less medical attention for them. Today, there are fewer than 408,000 cases worldwide of people suffering from leprosy (down from 763,000 in 2001), but we must not stand by idly; we must share in the suffering of lepers and their families, be sensitized to the problem, and support the …