Global leprosy update, 2017: reducing the disease burden due to leprosy

Overview

The modus operandi for leprosy control in all the WHO global strategies over the past 3 decades has been detection of all cases and prompt treatment with multi-drug therapy (MDT). As the global target has been reached in all but a few countries, the most recent strategy indicates a shift from “elimination of leprosy as a public health problem”1 to reduction of the disease burden, measured as a reduction in grade-2 disabilities (G2D) among new cases and new cases in children. The Global Leprosy Strategy 2016−2020, “Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world”, was adopted by most countries in which leprosy is endemic and which designed national implementation plans as envisioned in the strategy.