Spatiotemporal Changes of Leprosy in the 11 Districts of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India

Leprosy caused by Mycobacterium leprae, has a very long and distinguished history with varying endemicity globally. Spatiotemporal analyses have helped to pinpoint areas where more intensive and effective control strategies are needed. The monthly progress reports of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) are excellent sources of studying the spatial temporal changes. These secondary data were used to analyses the changes over the 11 districts of NCT. Multibacillary (MB) rates vary from a low of 61.4% to a high of 86.0%. There are variations in child% and female% also but not closely correlated with the MB rates. While the mean new case detection rate (NCDR) is lowest in New Delhi, 1.2 (SD 0.6), the highest is in Shahdara, 18.4 (SD 2.1). The prevalence rates also show wide fluctuations, NCDR shows a decline from about 7/100,000 to around 4/100,000. The prevalence rate (PR) kept on fluctuating from 0.7 to 0.4 / 10000 population. Deeper analyses of the NLEP data especially the multi-bacillary cases in terms of socioeconomic and environmental factors might be productive in detecting possible areas for more intensive control programs including education and surveys of children and women. Further research on the secondary data will help clarify possible gaps in the programs and more intensive follow-up of high MB cases.