Leprosy (Hansen's disease)

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast, rod-shaped bacillus. The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, and the eyes. Left untreated, it could lead to disabilities in a small proportion of patients. Visible deformities are one of the leading causes of stigma affecting health-seeking behaviour and social inclusion. Early detection and prompt treatment with multidrug therapy (MDT) can significantly reduce the burden of leprosy. MDT has been made available through WHO free of cost to all patients worldwide since 1995. More than 17 million patients received MDT over the past four decades.

In addition to early diagnosis and treatment, contact tracing and prophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin for contacts are recommended as preventive measures by WHO. Recent strategies to eliminate leprosy promote combating stigma and discrimination, including persons affected by leprosy, building partnerships and coalitions of relevant stakeholders, and increased ownership by countries.

In 2021, 135 WHO Member States shared information on leprosy, accounting for a registered prevalence of 133 781 cases and 140 546 new cases, of which 55 346 (39%) were among females. Globally, 8 490 new cases with G2D were detected and 368 (4%) of them were among children . Most of the countries with high rates of detection of new cases are in WHO African and South-East Asia Regions. Brazil, India and Indonesia continue to report a major share of global new leprosy cases (74%) in 2021 .