Defining criteria to declare elimination of leprosy: Report of an informal consultation meeting, Mexico City, Mexico, 10-12 February 2020

Overview

The general objectives of the informal consultation were:

• To discuss and review the current context, criteria and procedures for validation of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem;
• To discuss, analyze and propose the criteria and procedures for verification of interruption of transmission/elimination of disease.

The specific objectives were:

• Elimination of leprosy as a public health problem:

1. To define the criteria and procedures to validate elimination of leprosy as a public health problem in countries not yet having achieved this goal or in countries eager to properly document it;

• Determine the intermediate steps:

1. To analyze, define and discuss the steps, benefits and challenges of moving from elimination as a public health problem to interruption of transmission/elimination of disease;

• Interruption of transmission/elimination of disease:

1. To establish the conceptual framework needed to understand the basis for interruption of transmission;
2. To identify the (most likely) main strategies to achieve interruption of transmission;
3. To determine criteria for elimination of leprosy;
4. To propose a mechanism to verify the elimination of transmission in time and territory;
5. To explore surveillance and prevention actions for the post-elimination period;
6. To develop a draft protocol and guidelines for piloting.