Trends in leprosy over fifty years in Gudiyatham Taluk, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

This paper presents epidemiological trends over a fifty-year period observed in a defined population served by the Schieffelin Leprosy Research and Training Centre (SLR & TC), Karigiri, Vellore District in Tamil Nadu. It covers three distinct periods, namely, the pre-MDT era with dapsone monotherapy, the MDT era under a vertical leprosy control programme and the MDT era after leprosy control services were integrated into the general health services. Prevalence rates have declined steadily from 125 per 10,000 population at the time of introduction of MDT in 1982 to 5 per 10,000 at the time of integration in 1997 to less than 1 per 10,000 in 2005.

Effectiveness of multidrug therapy in multibacillary leprosy: a long-term follow-up of 34 multibacillary leprosy patients treated with multidrug regimens till skin smear negativity.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Field Trials of multidrug therapy (MDT) started at Schieffelin Leprosy Research and Training Centre (SLR & IC), Karigiri, India in December 1981. The patients were treated with two MDT regimens. The first (regimen A) consisted of 600mg rifampicin and 300mg of clofazimine given under supervision on 2 consecutive days monthly, 225mg injection of acedapsone bimonthly and dapsone 100mg daily.

Does clofazimine have a prophylactic role against neuritis?

A study was undertaken with the aim of testing the usefulness of clofazimine as a prophylactic agent against neuritis and nerve damage. A modified regimen, using initial high doses of clofazimine followed by regular multibacillary multidrug therapy (MB-MDT) WHO regimen, was given to a series of consecutive cases of high risk borderline leprosy patients, fulfilling defined selection criteria (n = 65). These patients were studied for the incidence of neuritis/Type I reaction, over a period of 2 years.