Context
India continues to face ongoing leprosy transmission, particularly among children, despite achieving the national elimination threshold in 2005. In 2025–26, 3,832 new child cases were detected, highlighting the need for early detection and interruption of transmission.
Explanation
- Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a chronic infectious disease caused mainly by Mycobacterium leprae, affecting the skin, peripheral nerves, eyes and upper respiratory tract.
- It spreads mainly through prolonged, close contact with an untreated patient, probably via respiratory droplets; it is not highly contagious.
- Its long incubation period, averaging about five years, makes transmission difficult to trace.
- Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT); early treatment prevents disability.
- India’s National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) conducts surveillance, contact tracing and Leprosy Case Detection Campaigns (LCDC).
- Child cases indicate recent/ongoing transmission, while Grade-2 Disability (G2D) at diagnosis indicates delayed detection.
- India’s National Strategic Plan 2023–2027 targets interruption of transmission at the district level by 2027.
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