Vietnam reported the rate of leprosy cases nationwide dropped to an average of 0.1 per 10,000 residents in 2004 from 0.7 per 10,000 in 1995.

With the drop, Vietnam attained the World Health Organization's leprosy elimination target of less than 1 per 10,000 population, according to the Vietnam News Agency on Monday.

Over the past decade, nearly 23,370 leprosy patients have been cured, while more than 10,000 disabled others have been given annual functional rehabilitation, said the agency.

To eliminate the disease totally in the country, the Health Ministry will increase social involvement in combating the disease, give high-risk remote and rural areas greater access to leprosy control services and improve functional rehabilitation services for disabled patients.

Source: Xinhua