Stigma hinders efforts to combat leprosy in India

TAHIRPUR, India (AP) — At first, Ashok Yadav ignored the patches of pink skin on his arm. But when pale sores erupted on his body and he lost sensation in his fingertips, a doctor issued the devastating diagnosis: Yadav had leprosy.

“What followed was like a nightmare,” said Yadav, who has lived in Kasturba Gram, a leper colony outside New Delhi, since his diagnosis 30 years ago. “I lost my job. My parents felt I would spoil my sisters’ chances of getting married. My family felt it would be better if I left home.”