Health minister Ma Subramanian said there are at least 37 lakh people inTamil Naduliving with vitiligo, a skin condition that causes skin to lose its color or pigment. However, despite the high prevalence, stigma against this condition persists in certain areas.
Vitiligo causes the skin to appear lighter compared to the natural skin tone or turn white. The condition occurs when the bodys immune system destroys melanocytes, or skin cells that produce melanin, the chemical that gives skin its color, or pigmentation.
Doctors from theIndian Associationof dermatologists, venereologists, and leperologists say that nearly 1 percent of the Population have the condition.