The Union Health Ministry launched a two-week-long massive campaign to eradicate leprosy by focussing on 149 endemic districts across the country.
In a first, the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) aims to cover more than 1,600 blocks in the 149 districts across 20 states where nearly 3 lakh health teams will undertake door-to-door visits to detect leprosy cases.
The teams will go door to door, do a check up and if a suspected patient is found put him or her on treatment.
At the national level, leprosy has been eradicated and most of the states have also eradicated it, the disease still exists at the districts and block level.
India achieved the goal of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem, defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 population, at the national level in December, 2005.