LEPROSY
Leprosy Review
0305-7518
British Leprosy Relief Association
Colchester, UK
00-2012
0305-7518/18/064053+11
10.47276/lr.89.1.2
Original Papers
Minimal essential data to document contact tracing and single dose rifampicin (SDR) for leprosy control in routine settings: a practical guide
KasangChrista
bMierasLiesbeth
cAnandSunil
dBonenbergerMarc
eIgnottiEliane
fTiwariAnuj
aCavalieroArielle
ia
Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
b
The German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association, Würzburg, Germany
c
Netherlands Leprosy Relief, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
d
American Leprosy Missions, Hyderabad, India
e
FAIRMED, Bern, Switzerland
f
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, Brasil
g
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
h
University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
i
Novartis Foundation, Basel, Switzerland
Correspondence to: Jan Hendrik Richardus, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Tel: +31 (0)10 7038473; e-mail: j.richardus@erasmusmc.nl)
01032018
89
1
2
12
11022018
© Lepra
2018
In leprosy control there is a renewed interest in active case finding, which is increasingly being combined with chemoprophylactic interventions to try and reduce M. leprae transmission. The Leprosy Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) programme, currently ongoing in eight endemic countries, pilots the provision of single-dose rifampicin (SDR) to eligible contacts of leprosy patients. LPEP has developed a surveillance system including data collection, reporting and regular monitoring for every participating country. This system is still largely programmespecific to LPEP. To facilitate continuity after completion of the project phase and start-up in other interested countries, we aim at identifying the minimal set of data required to appropriately document contact tracing activities and SDR administration for leprosy control in a routine setting.
We describe four indicators for the index case (plus four already routinely collected) and seven indicators for household/neighbour screening, and community surveys. We propose two generic forms to capture all relevant information required at field and district level to follow-up on individuals or data if needed, provide guidance on the sequence of tasks, provide quality control by listing key questions to assess SDR eligibility, and facilitate reporting. These generic forms have to be adapted to local requirements in terms of layout, language, and additional operational indicators.