The management of leprosy reversal reactions

摘要

Although Mycobacterium leprae infects both skin and peripheral nerves, it is the propensity to nerve damage with resulting disability which marks leprosy as a significant health problem. There have been recent dramatic falls in the prevalence of leprosy following the implementa- tion of multi-drug therapy (MDT) of short fixed duration; however, the incidence of new cases has yet to fall significantly in the major endemic countries and the pool of patient with potential nerve damage remains large. Leprosy reactions impact significantly on the management of the disease in two ways..