Maharashtra To Screen 8.66 Crore People In Massive Statewide Leprosy Detection Drive From November 17

Mumbai: Maharashtra will screen 8.66 crore people across 1,73,25,000 households during a statewide leprosy case detection drive scheduled from November 17 to December 2.

As part of this massive exercise, 65,832 survey teams and 13,166 supervisors will visit homes across all districts to identify suspected leprosy cases.

The annual campaign, conducted under Central Government guidelines, aims to strengthen early detection through extensive door-to-door inspections.

Large-Scale Survey Operations Planned

Each survey team—comprising one ASHA worker and one male volunteer—will conduct physical examinations while covering 20 homes daily in rural areas and 25 to 30 homes in urban locations. The field survey will continue for 14 consecutive days, ensuring thorough coverage of households statewide.

State-Level Committee Reviews Preparations

To review preparations, a meeting of the State-level Public Awareness Committee was held on November 14 under the chairmanship of Dr. Kadambari Balkawade, Commissioner of Health Services and Mission Director of the National Health Mission.

The meeting focused on boosting awareness, enhancing interdepartmental coordination, and ensuring smooth implementation. Senior officials, including Joint Director (TB and Leprosy) Dr. Rajratna Waghmare and Assistant Director (Health Education and Communication) Dr. Sanjaykumar Jathar, were among those present.

Minister Urges Strong Community Participation

Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Prakash Abitkar has written to district guardian ministers, district collectors, and village sarpanches urging them to ensure strong community participation. He emphasised diagnosing the maximum number of patients in each district and directed local bodies to oversee the campaign effectively.

Chief Secretary of the Health Department Dr. Nipun Vinayak has also reviewed district-level preparedness and issued directives to ensure efficient execution. The Health Department has appealed to citizens to cooperate and reiterated that leprosy treatment is free, effective, and available at all government health centres.

Confirmed Cases to Receive Immediate Treatment

Individuals identified as suspected cases during the survey will be examined by medical officers, and confirmed patients will be immediately started on multi-drug therapy.

The campaign aims to uncover hidden or undiagnosed cases, break the chain of transmission, and increase public awareness toward achieving Maharashtra’s target of ‘zero leprosy transmission’ by 2027.

Training and Surveillance Strengthened

To support field teams, training workshops and coordination meetings are being held at the state, district, and block levels, along with team training sessions at primary health centres.

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Strengthening surveillance further, the state has recently declared leprosy a ‘Notifiable Disease’, making it mandatory for all doctors and health institutions to report confirmed cases to district health authorities within two weeks of diagnosis.

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