title: Problems of leprosy relapse in China.
abstract: The proportion of relapses among all patients detected each year increased steadily since the initiation of the national leprosy control program in China with dapsone monotherapy in 1955, reaching 18%-24% in the more leprosy-endemic provinces along the coast. Relapses were also reported in the formerly rifampin-plus-dapsone-treated patients. So far, only three paucibacillary relapses after 6 months of multidrug therapy (MDT) have been reported, and these were due to misclassification at the time of diagnosis. A short course of MDT should be given to all formerly dapsone- and/or rifampin-plus-dapsone-cured patients for the prevention of relapse. If not, they should be screened every 1 to 2 years for any possible signs of relapse, and MDT given when needed.
authors.affiliation: Leprosy Unit, Beijing Tropical Medicine Research Institute, China.
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002991:Clofazimine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003622:Dapsone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012293:Rifampin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D003622:Dapsone; D002991:Clofazimine; D012293:Rifampin