India was formally declared “leprosy-free” in 2005, however, the country still accounts for over half of the world’s new leprosy cases, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), India accounts for over half of the world’s leprosy cases.
The National Health Policy, 2002 defined being “leprosy-free” as reporting less than 1 case per 10,000 population, at the National level.
India in 2005 was formally declared “leprosy-free”.
Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, leprosy primarily causes skin lesions, numbness, and other deformities by attacking the peripheral nervous system.
Also read: World Leprosy Day 2022: All you need to know about the theme, history and significance
As per the latest data from National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), a total of 65,147 new leprosy cases were detected during the year 2020-21 in India, a significant decrease compared to the previous year.
Let’s find out what more the data reveals:
What is leprosy?
– Leprosy is a bacterial infection that is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Almost 95 per cent of the world population is immune to this bacteria.
– It mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes.
– It is a contagious disease that can be transmitted via droplets from the nose and the mouth of infected people. However, the chances of transmission are reduced when the infected person is receiving treatment.
– When left untreated it can progressive and permanent damage to the skin, limbs, nerves and eyes.
– Leprosy is a curable disease. Doctors follow a multi-drug therapy to treat leprosy. These drugs are usually administered over a period of 6-24 months with multidrug therapy.
What the report reveals
– As per the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) report, a total of 65,147 new cases of leprosy were detected in 2020-21.
– The number of new cases was 1,14,451 in 2019-20. The decline has also been attributed to COVID-19 as detection and surveillance was affected since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.
– The report showed that Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand contributed 76 per cent of the new leprosy cases.
– According to the report, there are a total of 57,672 leprosy cases on record as of 1 April, 2021.
– While 7,859 child cases were reported in 2019-20, the number declined to 3,753 cases in 2020-21.
– According to a report by the Indian Express, there were 60,077 leprosy cases on record as of October 2021.
– NLEP 2020-21 noted that 94.75 per cent of patients in India are cured.
– The country has been seeing continuous decline since 2016 when 1,35,485 new cases were reported.
The global situation
– According to a WHO report, 1,27,558 new leprosy cases were detected globally in 2020 across 139 countries.
Also read: World Leprosy Day 2022: Find out if leprosy has been eradicated in the world?
– The number includes 629 children below the age of 15. The new case detection rate among the child population was recorded at 4.4 per million children.
– The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted detection and surveillance of leprosy cases leading to a decline of 37 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, WHO said.
– The WHO has set a vision of “Zero leprosy: zero infection and disease, zero disability, zero stigma and discrimination” for the year 2030.
With inputs from agencies
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