The treatment of leprosy.

From whatever standpoint leprosy is viewed, whether from that of the clinician or the epidemiologist, the objective must be to diagnose and treat the maximum number of leprosy patients, not only because the disease is curable but because treatment renders ' open ' cases non-contagious long before cure is obtained. Now that it is becoming generally accepted that the way to leprosy eradication lies through case-finding and treatment, an increasing responsibility falls upon doctors working in the tropics to undertake the treatment of leprosy in hospital or rural clinic out-patients, for facilities in leprosy hospitals (leprosaria) are far too limited to deal with the numbers of patients involved, and, in any case, admission to leprosaria should not be indiscriminate but should be restricted to cases where special social or medical indications exist.5 At present there are about 2II,900 leprosy inpatients throughout the world, but seven times as many are receiving out-patient treatment, and on the estimated world incidence of IO-I2 million leprosy sufferers, there are at least seven undiagnosed and untreated patients for every one under treatment.5 It is apparent, therefore, that in countries where leprosy is highly endemic, doctors without previous special training are likely to be called upon to shoulder the responsibility of treating leprosy out-patients, making use of the services of a leprosy specialist when difficulties arise, and it is for doctors such as these that this paper has been written.