page_title: Epidemiology of leprosy
section_title: Global situation
hierarchical_section_title: Epidemiology of leprosy / Global situation
caption_attribution_description: English: This bar graph of new cases of leprosy in 127 per year, 2006–2018, is based on WHO data published in the Weekly epidemiological record of the World Health Organization No 35, 2016, 91, 405–420 and Nos. 35/36, 2019, 94, 389–413. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/249601/WER9135.pdf https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/326775/WER9435-36-en-fr.pdf Deutsch: Balkendiagramm mit den Zahlen von Lepra-Neuerkrankungen pro Jahr 2006–2018, erstellt anhand von WHO-Daten, die im World Health Organization Weekly epidemiological record veröffentlicht wurden (No 35, 2016, 91, 405–420 und Nos. 35/36, 2019, 94, 389–413). https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/249601/WER9135.pdf https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/326775/WER9435-36-en-fr.pdf
context_page_description: Worldwide, two to three million people are estimated to be permanently disabled because of leprosy. India has the greatest number of cases, with Brazil second and Indonesia third.
  In 1999, the world incidence of Hansen's disease was estimated to be 640,000. In 2000, 738,284 cases were identified. In 2000, the World Health Organization listed 91 countries in which Hansen's disease is endemic. India, Myanmar and Nepal contained 70% of cases. India reports over 50% of the world's leprosy cases. In 2002, 763,917 new cases were detected worldwide, and in that year the WHO listed Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Nepal as having 90% of Hansen's disease cases.
  According to recent figures from the WHO, 208 619 new cases of leprosy were reported in 2018 from 127 countries. A total of 16,000 new child cases were detected in 2018.
  In the United States, Hansen's disease is tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a total of 92 cases being reported in 2002. Although the number of cases worldwide continues to fall, pockets of high prevalence continue in certain areas such as Brazil, South Asia, some parts of Africa and the western Pacific.
context_section_description: As reported to WHO by 115 countries and territories in 2006, and published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record, the global registered prevalence of leprosy at the beginning of the year was 219,826 cases. New-case detection during the previous year (2005 - the last year for which full country information is available) was 296,499. The reason for the annual detections being higher than the prevalence at the end of the year can be explained by the fact that a proportion of new cases complete their treatment within the year and, therefore, no longer remain on the registers. The global detection of new cases continues to show a sharp decline, falling by 110,000 cases (27%) during 2005 compared with the previous year.
  Table 1 shows that global annual detection has been declining since 2001. The African region reported an 8.7% decline in the number of new cases compared with 2004. The comparable figure for the Americas was 20.1%, for South-East Asia 32%, and for the Eastern Mediterranean 7.6%. The Western Pacific area, however, showed a 14.8% increase during the same period.
  Table 2 shows the leprosy situation in the four major countries that have yet to achieve the goal of elimination at the national level. Elimination is defined as a prevalence of less than 1 case per 10,000 population. Madagascar reached elimination at the national level in September 2006. Nepal detection reported from mid-November 2004 to mid-November 2005. D.R. Congo officially reported to WHO in 2008 that it had reached elimination by the end of 2007 at the national level.
caption: Plot of global new cases of leprosy per year, 2006–2018
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