Abstract

The rate of leprosy has been significantly reduced through the implementation of intensified control strategies. Of particular note is the free multidrug therapy (MDT) regimen provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1995, in which three standard first-line drugs, namely diaminodiphenylsulfone (dapsone), rifampicin, and clofazimine, are available for use in multidrug regimens of fixed duration. As a result, leprosy has been successfully eliminated from 119 of 122 countries in 2010. Leprosy is considered eliminated when the leprosy prevalence rate is less than 1 in a population of 10,000. The enhanced global strategy for further reducing the disease burden due to leprosy (plan period: 2011e2015) has been carried out in endemic countries. The prevalence of leprosy in the WHO western Pacific region, where Taiwan is located, is 0.05 and that of the southeast Asian region is 0.64 in the first quarter of 2012. Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast bacillus bacterium. The bacterium has an incubation period ranging from several months to several decades after infection. Leprosy causes severe disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms and legs. The skin becomes stiff and dry, and the lesions show erythematous plaques

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