title: Eliminating leprosy as a public health problem--is the optimism justified?
abstract: Systematic use of multidrug therapy has proved to be so effective that leprosy can be eliminated as a public health problem by the end of the century. However, because of the long incubation period of this disease, together with the time-lag in case detection, the factors involved in achieving and sustaining its elimination have to be very carefully defined.
authors.affiliation: Action Programme for the Elimination of Leprosy, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Noordeen
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Roxas
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Feenstra
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Gokhale
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huan-Ying
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Khalafalla
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Becx-Bleumink
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lechat
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sansarricq
mesh_terms: D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D007917:Leprostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D007917:Leprostatic Agents