Leprosy Training Module for Medical Officers

Elimination of Leprosy
It is well known that two initiatives :
1. The introduction of WHO recommended MDT in the 1980s and
2. The 1991 resolution of World health assembly to eliminate Leprosy as a
public health problem
made possible the remarkable progress the world has seen in the battle against
Leprosy.
Elimination :
Now, our goal is to achieve elimination of Leprosy as a public health problem in
India.Elimination of Leprosy aims at reducing the disease burden to very low levels
so that after reaching such low levels the disease will disappear over a period of
time. This very low level has been defined by WHO as a level of prevalence of
less than 1 case per 10000 population.
Elimination vs. Eradication :
Elimination is the achievement of low levels of disease ( prevalence less than 1
case per 10000 population ) while eradication has a more precise meaning. Making
total disappearance of the organism for complete stopping of transmission of
disease is Eradication.
Eradication aims at : 1.
Zero disease
2. Zero transmission
3. Zero disease agent in the world
In the case of Leprosy, eradication is not possible in view of limitations of
technology, neither is it necessary as Leprosy, unlike other diseases like Small pox
and Poliomyelitis, is not likely to result in outbreaks and widespread dissemination
after reaching very low levels of prevalence.
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