Delhi moves to make leprosy a notifiable disease

New Delhi: Delhi is set to join states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bengal in making leprosy a notifiable disease under the Delhi Epidemic Diseases Act. The health department has submitted a formal proposal for approval, a move aimed at strengthening tracking and treatment efforts across the capital.

The notification will mandate all govt and private healthcare providers, including clinics, hospitals and individual practitioners, to report every new leprosy case to the district leprosy officer for early intervention and response.

The capital has already notified several diseases, including human rabies, cholera, malaria, Covid and tuberculosis, under the Act. The addition of leprosy to the list will enable effective surveillance, early diagnosis, targeted interventions and prompt treatment with standard multi-drug therapy, which is available free of cost in govt facilities, health minister Pankaj Singh said.

In a statement, Delhi govt noted that while India officially achieved its target of leprosy “elimination” as a public health threat (prevalence rate below 1 per 10,000 population) in 2005, the country still accounts for roughly 59% of all new global cases.

A recent pan-India study found that over 44% of leprosy patients are managed by private health facilities and are unreported to National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP). Hidden cases in the community continue transmission, and variance in treatment protocols raises the threat of drug resistance.

World Health Organisation’s independent evaluation of the NLEP programme in India suggests that leprosy should be included in the list of diseases mandatory for notification.

“Leprosy is completely curable. Making it a notifiable disease will help us find hidden cases, stop transmission and ensure every patient gets standard treatment with dignity. This is a critical step towards honouring our commitment to a leprosy-free Delhi and supporting India’s journey towards the interruption of its transmission by 2030,” said Singh.

Mandatory notification is set to transform the fight against leprosy by enabling earlier diagnosis and swift medical intervention to prevent permanent disability. By enhancing surveillance in high-risk areas and deploying post-exposure prophylaxis through rigorous contact tracing, the policy aims to break the chain of transmission. Crucially, the move seeks to destigmatise the disease by treating it as a manageable medical condition, which is expected to improve patient compliance and align all healthcare providers towards the national goal of total eradication.
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