[Intensification of the fight against leprosy using early and systematic polychemotherapy]

The latest epidemiologic enquiries realized in West Africa and Central Africa have shown that real prevalence of leprosy is far greater, at least twice the number of patients than are actually listed in the medical records. This data proves that the fight against leprosy is highly inefficient and stresses the partial failure of the anti-hansenian strategy that has been adopted for over 10 years in this area, in spite of the use of rifampicin in multidrug therapy which would normally cure leprosy. Therefore we suggest that the fight against leprosy should be re-organised and reinforced in high endemic areas. The anti-hansenian programmes should be carried out by specific services composed of mobile and specialised teams whose task would be to aim for the early detection and continual testing for new cases. Only with this kind of organisation can chemotherapy be administered at the beginning, therefore arresting the disease before it reaches the multi-neuritis stage. This strategy offers great epidemiologic and economic advantages and would also give hope and dignity to the patients assured of a permanent cure. Leprosy would then be classed as a disease "just like any other".