Chile Becomes First Country in the Americas to Eliminate Leprosy, WHO Confirms

The World Health Organization has officially verified that Chile has eliminated leprosy disease, making it the first country in the Americas and only the second in the world — after the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan — to achieve this historic public health milestone. The verification confirms that Chile has not recorded a single locally transmitted case of leprosy for more than three decades, with the last locally acquired case reported in 1993.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. While it is curable with multidrug therapy, untreated cases can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes. The disease has carried a severe social stigma throughout history, often leading to the isolation and discrimination of affected individuals.

“The verification confirms that Chile has not recorded a single locally transmitted case of leprosy for more than three decades, with the last locally acquired case reported in 1993.”

Chile's success in eliminating leprosy is the result of decades of sustained public health effort. The country implemented comprehensive surveillance systems, ensured early detection and treatment of cases, and maintained strict containment measures to prevent local transmission. Historically, leprosy was recorded in Chile at the end of the 19th century on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), while cases on the mainland were sporadic and successfully contained through isolation and treatment.

Since 1995, the Pan American Health Organization, in coordination with WHO, has provided multidrug therapy free of charge across the Americas — initially with support from The Nippon Foundation and later from Novartis. This treatment access was crucial in enabling Chile and other countries to reduce case numbers and break transmission chains.

With this achievement, Chile becomes the sixty-first country globally and the sixth in the Americas to have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease. The milestone demonstrates that neglected tropical diseases — which disproportionately affect the world's poorest populations — can be conquered through sustained investment in public health infrastructure, surveillance, and treatment access.

The WHO has called on other nations in the region to follow Chile's example, noting that elimination of leprosy is achievable with the right combination of political will, health system capacity, and community engagement. The achievement brings the world one step closer to the global goal of zero leprosy transmission.