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Early detection drive flags 632 new leprosy cases, including 160 in Pune

According to Dr Bhagyashree Patil Thopte, Assistant Director of Health Services (Leprosy), Pune, entire teams from district health office, Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation participated in the exercise.

3 min readPuneUpdated: Dec 10, 2025 08:41 AM IST

Across the state, more than 5,000 new cases of leprosy were identified (Source: Express Archives)

As part of the state-level drive for early detection of leprosy, health authorities have identified 632 cases in the last fortnight, of which 160 were reported from the city. District health officials noted that virtually no patients showed deformities and made a strong case for early diagnosis in ensuring timely and effective treatment.

Dr Bhagwan Pawar, Deputy Director of Health, Pune circle, said an intensified Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) was conducted from November 17 to December 2. Across the state, more than 5,000 new cases of leprosy were identified. Pune circle that includes Pune, Satara and Solapur have reported 632 new cases, of which 160 are from Pune, 351 from Satara and 121 from Solapur. Overall, the surveillance was conducted in a population of 1.17 crore.

Pune

According to Dr Bhagyashree Patil Thopte, Assistant Director of Health Services (Leprosy), Pune, entire teams from district health office, Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation participated in the exercise. “This involved teams visiting houses in densely populated slum areas in the city as well as among high-risk populations to check for early symptoms of leprosy,” Dr Thopte said.

She also explained that multibacillary leprosy showed a high density of bacilli on slit-skin smear examination as against paucibacillary cases which shows only a few or no bacilli on slit-skin smear examination. “In fact during the drive we found that there were paucibacillary cases which has a less bacterial load and they were immediately placed on multi drug therapy,” Dr Thopte said, adding that the main aim of the early detection of leprosy is to break the chain of infection by 2027. Among rural areas teams found cases in double digits in tehsils like Maval, Junnar, Daund, Bhor and Purandar.

“Early diagnosis and treatment with multidrug therapy can prevent disabilities and deformities,” Dr Ramchandra Hankare, Pune District Health Officer, said. He added that the aim was to detect patients with leprosy at the earliest to avoid any deformity. A population of over 54 lakh was surveyed to detect the symptoms of leprosy. Early signs include numbness or tingling in hands, feet or limbs, light skin patches , weakness in hands or feet and loss of temperature sensation in affected areas, among others.

Unfortunately, stigma persists around leprosy, according to health officials. “This is mainly due to fear, myths and lack of understanding though the disease is curable,” Dr Pawar add.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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