Abstract
An innovative approach to screening and chemoprophylaxis among contacts of leprosy patients in low endemic settings: experiences from Cambodia.
Highlights
OPEN ACCESSThe inconspicuous first symptoms and slow progress of the disease often result in considerable delay until the diagnosis is established and treatment initiated [1]
The feasibility and impact of a combination of contact tracing, screening, and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) with single dose of rifampicin (SDR) is currently being evaluated in eight countries in the frame of the Leprosy Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) program [9, 10]
A relatively high number of new leprosy patients per 100,000 total population diagnosed in an operational district (OD) over the period 2011 through 2015 was defined as the most important selection criterion
Summary
The inconspicuous first symptoms and slow progress of the disease often result in considerable delay until the diagnosis is established and treatment initiated [1] Contributing to this delay are the generally weak health systems in areas where leprosy is endemic. Following the global achievement of “leprosy elimination as a public health problem” in 2000, the efforts to actively identify leprosy patients have been drastically scaled back in most countries. The feasibility and impact of a combination of contact tracing, screening, and PEP with SDR is currently being evaluated in eight countries in the frame of the Leprosy Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) program [9, 10]. Cambodia declared leprosy elimination as a public health problem in 1998.
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