# National Leprosy Eradication Programme > NLEP for NEET-PG Community Medicine: 1983 MDT programme, 2005 elimination, ASHA-based detection, Sparsh and Leprosy Case Detection campaigns and 2030 goals. - Canonical URL: https://prepelephant.com/topics/neet-pg/community-medicine/national-leprosy-eradication-programme - Exam / course: NEET-PG · Subject: Community Medicine - Publisher: PrepElephant (https://prepelephant.com) — Prepared and reviewed by the PrepElephant Academic Review Team - First published: 2026-10-02 - Last updated: 2026-10-02 - How to cite: "National Leprosy Eradication Programme", PrepElephant, https://prepelephant.com/topics/neet-pg/community-medicine/national-leprosy-eradication-programme ## Direct answer India's National Leprosy Eradication Programme began as the National Leprosy Control Programme in 1955 and was redesignated the NLEP in 1983 with multidrug therapy; the country achieved elimination as a public health problem — prevalence below 1 per 10,000 — in December 2005, yet still reports the world's largest number of new cases each year. The current focus is early detection through ASHA-led and campaign-based searches, Grade 2 disability prevention, contact interventions including single-dose rifampicin post-exposure prophylaxis, and interruption of transmission towards zero leprosy by 2030. ## What you must remember - Timeline: National Leprosy Control Programme 1955; NLEP with multidrug therapy 1983; national elimination as a public health problem in December 2005 (prevalence below 1 per 10,000). - Case detection: incentivised ASHA-based house-to-house searches; Leprosy Case Detection Campaigns in high-endemic districts; contact examination of every new case; the Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign runs around 30 January, Anti-Leprosy Day. - Diagnosis is clinical — a hypopigmented patch with loss of sensation and thickened peripheral nerves; slit-skin smears support classification: paucibacillary (up to five lesions, smear-negative) versus multibacillary (more than five or smear-positive). - Multidrug therapy is free in blister packs: paucibacillary — rifampicin plus dapsone for 6 months; multibacillary — rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone for 12 months, with monthly supervised rifampicin and clofazimine and daily self-administered drugs. - Rifampicin is the key bactericidal drug, clofazimine is bactericidal and anti-inflammatory (useful in type 2 reactions), dapsone is bacteriostatic and may cause haemolysis. - Reactions are emergencies: type 1 (reversal) threatens nerve function and is treated with corticosteroids; erythema nodosum leprosum is treated with steroids, clofazimine or thalidomide. - Disability focus: self-care, footwear, physiotherapy, reconstructive surgery, and Grade 2 (visible) disability in new cases as the key indicator, tracked on the Nikusth portal; single-dose rifampicin PEP goes to eligible contacts. ## Common confusion Control, elimination and eradication are the definitions most often confused: control reduces disease to an acceptable level, elimination reduces prevalence below 1 per 10,000 or interrupts transmission as a public health problem (India's 2005 achievement), and eradication means zero cases worldwide — achieved so far only for smallpox. The programme's own name says "eradication" while its achievement is elimination, a favourite viva point. Students also mix up the WHO threshold with case-detection rates, and Nikusth (leprosy) with Nikshay (tuberculosis). ## Exam-focused takeaway Questions test the years 1955, 1983 and December 2005; MDT combinations and durations; Grade 2 disability; the campaigns and ASHA incentives; and reaction management. Clinical crossovers pair a hypoaesthetic patch with classification and the correct MDT pack. Expect matching items on Nikusth versus Nikshay and on elimination versus eradication. Vivas ask for the strategy beyond elimination. ## Frequently asked questions ### When did India achieve leprosy elimination, and what does that mean? December 2005, when the prevalence rate fell below 1 per 10,000 — elimination as a public health problem, not eradication; new cases still occur. ### What is the MDT regimen for multibacillary leprosy? Rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone for 12 months, rifampicin and clofazimine monthly supervised, the rest daily self-administered; paucibacillary disease gets rifampicin and dapsone for 6 months. ### What is the Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign? A nationwide annual campaign around 30 January, Anti-Leprosy Day, promoting awareness, contact examination and stigma reduction. ### What is Grade 2 disability? Visible deformity — claw hand, foot drop, trophic ulcer, lagophthalmos — in a new case; reducing its proportion is the core early-detection indicator. ### What is single-dose rifampicin post-exposure prophylaxis? Chemoprophylaxis given once to eligible contacts of new cases to lower their risk of developing leprosy. ### What is Nikusth? The NLEP's online portal for cases, treatment, disability and campaign data; not to be confused with Nikshay, the tuberculosis portal.