altDWAIN CHAMBERS (pictured) is now in trouble with a leprosy group after his comments earlier in the week that he felt he was being "treated like a leper".

 

The 29-year-old Londoner made his comments after being picked to represent Britain in the 60 metres at next month's World Indoor Championships in Valenica although the selectors made it clear they did not want to include him.

 

He has also been excluded from all of the major meetings in Europe by organisers who have said that they will not invite him.

The Leprosy Mission expressed its disappointment that no newspapers covering Chambers’ comments remarked on “the fact that this is a hugely offensive statement”.
 
One person is diagnosed with leprosy every two minutes and sufferers often face family and community rejection, and in some cases even divorce, the group said in a press release.
 
Chambers “probably also doesn’t know that comments like his, especially when projected into the media, perpetuate the myths that people affected by leprosy should be isolated and that leprosy is highly contagious”, the Leprosy Mission said.
 
The organisation stressed that leprosy is curable and that the risk of the disease spreading to another person disappears within two weeks of starting treatment, meaning that sufferers do not need to be isolated.
 
The Leprosy Mission also hit out at leading newspapers and news agencies for using inconsiderate headlines to cover Chambers’ comments, including Sky News’ “Dwain’s ‘Leper’ feeling” and The Daily Telegraph’s “Don’t treat me like a leper”.
 
The organisation said: “Unlike Chambers, most people affected by leprosy don’t get a chance to clear their names from stigma because of the ignorance that assumes they are ‘dirty’".
 
“Again unlike Chambers, most people affected by leprosy live below the poverty line and so can’t appeal to the public to respect them and treat them fairly.
 
“Considering leprosy still affects millions of people in the world today, it is outrageous that these statements are seen as acceptable in a country which is happily free of the disease and its consequences.”