ELIMINATION OF LEPROSY AS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM

Elimination of leprosy as a public health problem.

Progress towards elimination of leprosy as a public health problem in India and role of modified leprosy elimination campaign.

India (population 943 million) has seen a highly significant decrease in the prevalence of leprosy since the introduction of multi-drug therapy (MDT) in 1981. From a prevalence rate of 57/10,000 of the population in March 1981, the figure has declined to 5.2/10,000 in March 1999. This was possible due to the creation of a completely vertical (specialized) infrastructure for leprosy control in t...

Prospects of global elimination of leprosy as a public health problem by the year 2000.

In this critical review, the perspective of world elimination of leprosy is analyzed as depending on three factors: 1) efficacy of antileprosy multidrug therapy; 2) difficultys in implementing pharmacologic therapy and other control programs; 3) non-medical conditions in endemic areas. Based on there factors, a pessimistic view arises related to the WHO goal of leprosy elimination by the year 2...

Elimination of Leprosy as a Public Health Problem – Current Status and Challenges Ahead

Elimination of leprosy as a public health problem: progress and prospects.

Leprosy is still an important problem in about 80 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, some 2.4 million persons being estimated to have the disease in 1994. The WHO-recommended standard multidrug therapy (MDT) was introduced in the 1980s and has been shown to be effective in combating the disease. Experiences based on many thousands of patients treated with MDT over the past decade indi...