Leprosy, a disease known as "the forgotten disease of forgotten diseases". Although the number of leprosy patients nationwide is not large, the remaining consequences are very severe, and doctors and nurses silently care for these "forgotten" people.
Doctor Le Thi Mai, head of the Central Dermatology Hospital's command department - Photo: D.LIEU
MSc. Dr. Le Thi Mai, head of the Central Dermatology Hospital's command department, is one of those doctors.
Family "fated" with leprosy patients
Doctor Mai confided that from the first days she entered the Central Dermatology Hospital in 2004, she did not expect that this job would stay with her for so long.
She studied dentistry, but when she married into a family of doctors with a "tradition" of treating leprosy patients, she became "fated" with the career of preventing leprosy.
Dr. Mai is the daughter-in-law of Dr. Tran Huu Ngoan - a "monument" in treating leprosy in Vietnam. The late Dr. Tran Huu Ngoan, former director of Quy Hoa Leprosy Hospital, was famous for injecting himself with Hansen's leprosy bacteria taken from a patient to prove that the disease is not contagious.
In 1961, after graduating from Hanoi Medical University, Dr. Ngoan volunteered to work at Quynh Lap Leprosy Treatment Center (Nghe An). Since then, the Hanoi doctor devoted his life to leprosy patients - a disease that was stigmatized by society at that time.
For his contributions, in 1995, the International Federation of Leprosy Hospitals of India selected Dr. Ngoan to receive the Gandhi International Prize - an award for dedication to peace. However, the doctor refused because he thought he had not done enough to receive this noble award.
Doctor Mai recalls that day, when she became the daughter-in-law of the late doctor Ngoan, she heard her father and husband talk a lot about leprosy patients. The family still keeps the "souvenirs" of the leprosy patient that he brought back, from spoons to sandals.
"His whole life until his death was devoted to leprosy patients. When he passed away, a very close leprosy patient came to pay his respects.
He had a very large book on leprosy, "Leprosy Theory and Practice". After I got married, he said, "Go study dermatology," Dr. Mai recalled.
Seeing her father-in-law's passion and hearing her husband's stories about his childhood spent in leprosy camps, Dr. Mai decided to switch to dermatology. She fell in love with this major and gradually embarked on a challenging path of fighting leprosy. And to date, she has spent more than 20 years of her life caring for and fighting this forgotten disease.
Currently, as the head of the line management department at the Central Dermatology Hospital, she continues to maintain the mission of leprosy prevention, continuing the dedication of her family, especially her father-in-law - Doctor Tran Huu Ngoan, a monument in the field of leprosy treatment in Vietnam.
Doctor Mai (white shirt) on a trip to visit a patient - Photo: NVCC
"We must treat leprosy patients as relatives"
Doctor Mai said he remembered the advice of teachers such as Professor Dang Vu Hy, Professor Le Kinh Due, Associate Professor Pham Van Hien, Professor Tran Hau Khang, Associate Professor Nguyen Van Thuong (all leading doctors in treating leprosy - PV): "To cure leprosy, we must treat patients like relatives."
Because this is a rare disease among rare diseases, a forgotten disease among forgotten diseases. Discrimination has pushed countless fates into the dark corners of society, leaving patients living in isolation for decades in leprosy camps.
In her twenty years of service, Dr. Mai has witnessed a positive change in community awareness. While previously leprosy patients were shunned, feared, and even did not dare to go to the hospital for fear of being isolated, now they are more open.
"There is a rule when doctors at the hospital examine leprosy patients: they never wear gloves. Partly because the disease is very difficult to spread, mostly only through open wounds and mucous membranes. Partly because leprosy patients feel close to each other and cooperate in treatment," Dr. Mai shared.
"At the place that takes care of patients with disabilities due to leprosy, there are many people with very severe disabilities. There are people over 100 years old, some have lost their limbs, are blind, and have deformed faces due to the consequences of leprosy. They look forward to the attention of society, we always try to bring them joy, no matter how small," Dr. Mai said with a smile.
Concerns and hopes
Unlike the previous fight against leprosy, according to Dr. Mai, the epidemic situation has changed a lot. The journey to find and treat leprosy patients is still full of difficulties. Every year, the whole country still discovers about 100 new cases.
She confided: "One of my greatest advantages in leprosy prevention work is the close guidance and support of the hospital's board of directors, especially Associate Professor, Dr. Le Huu Doanh.
He directly participated in many business trips, visiting difficult cases, and giving gifts to leprosy patients across the country. It was his close supervision that motivated and helped us complete our tasks for leprosy patients well.
Besides, I also have a team of doctors and staff in the command room who are all devoted to leprosy patients. Without such enthusiastic colleagues, I certainly could not have completed my mission."
In addition, detecting patients is increasingly difficult because clinical manifestations have changed, and there are even cases where no epidemiological factors of infection can be found. There are cases right in the capital Hanoi but doctors cannot find the source of infection due to the very long incubation period.
"In 2018, a female patient around 50 years old in Hanoi was found to have leprosy. Before that, the patient had gone to many hospitals but could not find the disease. After being examined and tested at the Central Dermatology Hospital, the patient was diagnosed with leprosy and the epidemiological factors and source of infection were also difficult to determine.
Or there was a case where a patient came for a check-up and was found to have leprosy. When the doctors contacted the patient again, the patient refused to return to the hospital for treatment because he said, "I don't have leprosy."
At that time, I had to ask the hospital director for a car ride and send a doctor from the department to come to the patient's place to consult before agreeing to treat him. For leprosy patients, not everyone accepts treatment right away, although now the discrimination against leprosy patients is very little.
Those are the new difficulties and challenges facing doctors in the current work of preventing leprosy," said Dr. Mai.
Talking about his contribution to the fight against leprosy, Dr. Mai said he only contributed a small part in the long journey of fighting leprosy.
"My work cannot be successful without the cooperation of the entire health system and related organizations. One of the important activities is to search for new leprosy patients based on old cases, because the leprosy bacillus can incubate for 5 to 20 years.
Hope Vietnam has no more leprosy
Doctor Mai (in the middle of the photo) visits and gives gifts to patients disabled by leprosy - Photo: BSCC
Currently, the hospital is developing a leprosy strategy for the 2025-2030 period with the goal of "For a Vietnam without leprosy: no infections, no cases, no disabilities and no discrimination".
This is not just a plan, but the passion of the teachers, doctors and the collective of doctors and staff of the Central Dermatology Hospital, and is the hope for the last leprosy patients in Vietnam," Dr. Mai confided.
Currently, 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam have been recognized as leprosy-free. Vietnam also aims to eradicate leprosy by 2030. With a passionate heart, Dr. Mai continues to contribute, as a way to extend the "legacy" of her father-in-law, of those who leave no one behind.
Doctors and nurses not only help improve the lives of leprosy patients but also contribute to changing social awareness of this disease. This is a testament to the spirit of sacrifice and compassion of a physician, always devoted to patients, even though the road ahead is full of thorns.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-bac-si-noi-tiep-truyen-thong-gia-dinh-cham-soc-nguoi-benh-mac-can-benh-bi-lang-quen-20250227233743072.htm
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