Elimination of leprosy as public health problem (defined as a registered prevalence of less

than 1 case per 10 000 population) was achieved globally in 2000. More than 16 million
leprosy patients have been treated with MDT over the past 20 years.

World Leprosy Day takes place on 31 January 2021

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by “mycobacterium leprae” that mainly affects the
skin, peripheral nerves, eyes and the mucous membrane of the windpipe.

What is Leprosy? • It is a chronic infectious disease • characterized by lesions of the peripheral

nerve, skin, and mucus membrane of the URT

DIAGNOSIS OF LEPROSY• Hypopigmented or reddish skin lesion(s) with definite loss of

sensation• Damage to the peripheral nerves, as demonstated by loss of sensation• Weakness of
the muscles of hands, feet or face• Positive skin smear

At Carville in 1941, promin, a sulfone drug, showed efficacy but required many painful injections.

 M. leprae multiplies slowly and the incubation period of the disease, on

average, is 5 years.
 Symptoms may occur within 1 year but can also take as long as 20 years
or even more to occur.

In 2019 WHO’s South East Asia Region reported 71% of all global cases: 2 countries – India (120 334
cases) and Indonesia (17 017 cases) contributed 92% of the cases in this Region. In WHO’s Region
of the Americas, Brazil continued to report high case levels (28 660 cases) representing 93% of all
cases in this Region. Combined, Brazil, India and Indonesia accounted for 79.6% of all the new cases
detected globally.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/health/why-leprosy-has-resurfaced-in-ind
https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/news/Leprosy-new-data-show-steady-decline-in-ne

The types are:

 Tuberculoid. A mild, less severe form of leprosy. People
with this type have only one or a few patches of flat, pale-
 colored skin (paucibacillary leprosy). The affected area of
skin may feel numb because of nerve damage underneath.
Tuberculoid leprosy is less contagious than other forms.
 Lepromatous. A more severe form of the disease. It
brings widespread skin bumps and rashes (multibacillary
leprosy), numbness, and muscle weakness. The
nose, kidneys, and male reproductive organs may also be
affected. It is more contagious than tuberculoid leprosy.
 Borderline. People with this type of leprosy have
symptoms of both the tuberculoid and lepromatous forms.
According to Sasakawa, Goodwill ambassador for leprosy elimination representing WHO, more than
50,000 leprosy patients in India suffered due to lack of medical care during the lockdown period.
“Leprosy patients were the worst affected and suffered during the lockdown in India. Even after the
lifting of lockdown more than 50,000 patients had suffered as they did not get access to medicines
and food. To find out more on how many suffered during lockdown and how many deaths were
caused among leprosy patients, we are conducting an assessment in 6 states in India,” informed
Sasakawa.

Covid-19 lockdown hit leprosy patients worst in India as

thousands were deprived of medical care: WHO
A Raju, Hyderabad
Saturday, February 6, 2021

http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=135330&sid=1

Incidence and Clinical Profile of Leprosy in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana Suma
Nalamada1 , Md. Siddique Ahmed Khan2 , Lubna Saher3 , Mariya Samreen4 , Humera Qudsia
Fathima Ansari5 , Tiyyagura Sarada6 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21276/ijcmr.2018.5.10.7

introduction: Leprosy an infectious disease still remains a major public health hazard. Though it has
been eliminated from the world and from India, it has not been completely eradicated. New cases
continue to occur indicating an active transmission of the disease from person to person. Therefore
this present study was conducted to ascertain the incidence and clinical profile of leprosy cases at a
tertiary care center in Hyderabad, Telangana. This study further proposed various strategies to help
reduce incidence rates, as this disease, for the most part, is acquired by contact with the infected
persons. Material and methods: This retrospective study collected data on the occurrence of
incidence cases by reviewing health records in our hospital setting. Clinical records of the patients
provided useful information on the demographic profile, type of leprosy, details of clinical
examination, and treatment protocol followed to help assess the incidence and clinical profile of the
leprosy cases. Slit skin smear examination for acid-fast bacilli helped to confirm clinically suspected
cases of leprosy. Results: From a total of 97 clinically assumed cases reporting to our hospital 24
were found to be positive for acid-fast bacilli. These cases were neither previously diagnosed as
leprosy nor had undergone any treatment for leprosy. The majority of the diagnosed cases belonged
to the middle age group (50%). 75% of incidence cases were males. Borderline tuberculoid (33%)
was the most frequent type of leprosy observed in this study. Conclusion: This study concluded that
although the prevalence rate has decreased over a period of time, incidence cases still do occur
indicating an active transmission of the disease from the infected persons to the contacts. This study
further addressed various strategies which could help decrease these incidence cases.

In April 2016, World Health Organization came out with a document titled “Global leprosy
strategy 2016–2020: Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world” which proposes to build on
the momentum created in leprosy control at the global and local level.[1] Three key targets
were defined for the global strategy which are (i) zero grade 2 disabilities among children
diagnosed with leprosy; (ii) the reduction of new leprosy cases with grade 2 disability to <1
case/million population and (iii) zero countries with legislation allowing discrimination on the
basis of leprosy.