Leprosy can be cured!

A cocktail of antibiotic drugs known as Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) was found to cure leprosy and made readily available in 1982.  Since then more than 20 million people affected by leprosy have been cured.  MDT is taken for six to twelve  months and has been supplied free since 2000 by the Novartis Foundation in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

In nearly all countries affected by leprosy the local primary health workers diagnose the disease and administer MDT. The Leprosy Mission hospitals in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar (and cooperating local hospitals in many other countries) provide referral services for people who experience reaction to MDT and who need treatment for ulcers or other complications.

Ulcers are a common cause of injury for those who were cured after leprosy had affected their nerves or caused disability.  Caring for ulcers and injury-prone hands and feet is an important aspect of the health services.  Ulcer management, tendon transfer surgery, pre- and post-operative physiotherapy, counselling services, occupational therapy and other forms of medical treatment are made available by TLM for those in need because such care is not always available to them through their country's primary health system. Such people are generally stigmatised and only recently and in some countries have they been allowed into public hospitals for either leprosy-related or general health issues.