Background

Leptospirosis poses a significant health challenge in India, particularly in coastal regions. To tackle this issue, the Government of India initiated a Pilot Project on Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis during the 11th Five-year Plan. The success of this pilot paved the way for the launch of the Programme for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis during the 12th Five-year Plan. Currently programme is being implementing in 12 States & 2 UTs covering 181 Districts. The States & UTs are- Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Punjab, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, UT of Andaman & Nicobar Island and UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Objective

Reduction of morbidity and mortality due to Leptospirosis.

Programme Components

• Development of trained human resources for Leptospirosis diagnosis, case management, prevention, control, and inter-sectoral coordination.
• Strengthening surveillance of Leptospirosis in humans.
• Strengthening diagnostic capacity of laboratories in endemic States/UTs.
• Creating awareness regarding timely detection and appropriate treatment of patients.
• Strengthening inter-sectoral coordination at State and District levels for outbreak detection, prevention, and control of Leptospirosis.

Major Activities and Achievements

• A network of 5 laboratories has been strengthened across states of Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Tamil Nadu.
• Pre-monsoon seasonal advisory to states/UTs is being issued for prevention and control leptospirosis.
• Regular Hands on trainings on Leptospirosis is being conducted-12 Hands on training so far conducted for all States on Leptospirosis. Trained ~20,000 participants across States/UTs through Master Training of Trainers.
• Network of trained laboratory professionals is being created in all programme States/UTs.
• All endemic States/UTs have adequate stock of Doxycycline, diagnostic kits and consumables.
• Reporting of suspected and laboratory confirmed cases have increased over the years due to improved reporting mechanism, sensitization of officials and improved diagnostic capacity.
• Periodic sensitization of State officials is being undertaken for Program for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis (PPCL).
• Health departments at state and district level have been advocated to collaborate with veterinary and agriculture department for rodent control and animal vaccination.
• Guidelines for diagnosis, case management, prevention and control of Leptospirosis have been published and disseminated to States. Revision of guidelines is under progress.
• Operational Guidelines for the program circulated to the State Nodal Officers. Revision of guidelines is under progress.
• National review meeting for sensitization of nodal officers and training of master trainers for implementation of the program is being conducted every year by NCDC.
• Prototype IEC material and audio spots developed and disseminated to States.
• Reporting formats finalized and aligned with the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) for improving real-time surveillance of Leptospirosis.