Can leprosy be cured?

If you had lived a century ago, the answer to the question can leprosy be cured, would be a resolute no. However, today the answer to the question is yes! Absolutely!

However, the journey to a cure is not easy and the ugly scar left by leprosy can still be felt in the world today in the form of discrimination and stigma.

How is leprosy cured?

MDT is the only known cure for leprosy. By using the combination of 3 antibiotics, it decreases the chance of drug resistance. On average, treatment is required for 12 continuous months. Once a person commences on treatment, within 48hrs they are no longer infectious and cannot transmit the disease to other people. In addition, once started on MDT, if patients cease taking their medication before most of the bacteria has been eliminated, they can suffer severe reactions that can cause painful skin inflammation, blisters and wounds all over their body.

While MDT treatment can cure the disease and prevent it from getting worse, it cannot reverse nerve damage nor physical deformities that may have occurred before diagnosis was made.

Since 1995, The World Health Organization has provided MDT free of charge globally. If leprosy is diagnosed early (before any nerve damage has occurred) and a full course of MDT is completed, people can be completely cured and live the rest of their lives normally, with no physical deformity or disability. However, in many places, strong stigma still exists and although cured, people continue to face discrimination and marginalisation from their communities.

If leprosy can be permanently cured, why is it still a concern in the world today?

Although MDT is available, the fear of stigma and discrimination is a big problem in many places. As a result, people are afraid to come forward for testing. In addition, since Mycobacterium leprae multiplies very slowly, symptoms can take a long time to develop - an average of about 5 years, but sometimes up to 20 years after being infected. Therefore, early symptoms of leprosy, such as discolouration of a patch of skin, can often be confused for other conditions, which can result in delays in diagnosis, at which point, the disease may have been transmitted to several close contacts.

Staying motivated to complete a course of treatment can also be difficult. For us in Australia, when we have an infection, the doctor might prescribe a course of antibiotics for between 7-14 days. I know many of us find it difficult completing the full course of antibiotics and that’s only for 14 days! Imagine needing to take antibiotics for 365 days continuously! Not to mention the long distances patients may need to travel in order to pick up their medications.

Therefore, although there is a cure, there are also many stumbling blocks along the way, that make the journey to be cured very difficult.

What can you do to help?

Villages and health clinics are often remote and difficult to access. Leprosy patients can struggle to access a constant supply of the cure. Your gift enables patients to easily access a regular supply of Multi-Drug Therapy and provide support to motivate patients to ensure they can successfully complete treatment without interruption.

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