3,832 children diagnosed with leprosy as India targets interruption of transmission by 2027

India recorded 3,832 new leprosy cases among children in 2025-26, including 37 who had Grade-2 disability (G2D) at diagnosis — an indicator of delayed detection. The child caseload was 91.6% higher than the National Leprosy Eradication Programme's (NLEP) target of 2,000 cases for the year.

The figures, from the latest NLEP annual report for 2025-26, come even as India pursues the National Strategic Plan for Leprosy 2023-27, which seeks to interrupt transmission at the district level by 2027. Under the roadmap, a district is considered to have interrupted transmission after reporting zero new indigenous child cases for five consecutive years.

The NLEP's programme objectives include zero disability among new child cases and a national G2D rate of less than one case per million population. The roadmap projects 1,000 child cases and a G2D rate of 0.5 per million for 2026-27.

The appearance of children among newly detected cases matters beyond the absolute number. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers new cases among children below 15 years an indicator of recent transmission, while G2D among newly detected patients indicates delayed diagnosis.

The WHO also says disabilities among newly detected child cases signal both delayed detection and ongoing transmission.

India recorded 63 children with G2D in 2019-20, followed by 35 in 2020-21, 41 in 2021-22, 55 in 2022-23 and 45 in 2023-24. The continued detection of children with G2D contrasts with the NLEP's objective of zero disability among new child cases.

The latest numbers therefore raise a fundamental epidemiological question: if India is working to interrupt transmission by 2027, why are children still developing leprosy, and why are some reaching diagnosis only after visible disability has appeared?

India detected 91,783 new leprosy cases in 2025-26, according to the Union Health Ministry. The prevalence rate was 0.56 per 10,000 population, and 1,945 patients had Grade-2 disability at diagnosis, accounting for 2.12% of all newly detected cases. The national G2D rate was 1.34 per million, above the NLEP's target of less than one case per million.