Leprosy situation in endemic states of India and prospects of elimination of the disease.

In India there is a dramatic fall in the prevalence rate (PR) of leprosy, but the new case-detection rate (NCDR) has not been reduced concomitantly. It is the operational efficiency of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) that has led to a significant reduction in the NCDR in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The ratio of PR to NCDR has been declining in these two states and it reveals that elimination could be reached even with the high NCDR level of 3 to 4 per 10000 population, particularly if single skin lesion (SSL) cases are discharged through single dose treatment of rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline (ROM).