2001: Studies on strategies, techniques and measures to control and eliminate leprosy

Contribution/research:
Studies on strategies, techniques and measures to control and eliminate leprosy in China

Award:
First Award of the National Scientific and Technological Achievements

Winners:
Li H, Li W, Chen X, et al

Address:
National Center for STD and Leprosy Control, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 12 Jiangwangmiao Road, Nanjing 210042, P. R. China

Introduction:
Strategies include: (1) Based on the epidemic characteristics of leprosy and lack of its effective primary prevention, and after the pilot study in field and implementation nationwide, strategies targeting on detection and control of infectious sources were determined; (2) A model of leprosy control in terms of county was proposed according to epidemic situation of leprosy; (3) With experimental studies on drugs of WHO recommended regimen and field studies in some areas, a multi-drug therapy (MDT) with fixed duration was proposed to be effective in control of leprosy; (4) According to progress of leprosy control, and the distribution patterns of leprosy, a model in which leprosy control is integrated into primary health care was developed and recommended; (5) In order to meet the needs of leprosy control, some methods for early diagnosis of leprosy have been developed; (6) A national case-recording and reporting system has been established to provide scientific basis for achieving elimination of leprosy; (7) A series of diagnostic criteria, technical indicators, monitoring methods have been formulated. The advantages of this project include: (1) Identification of control principal, i.e. early detection and effective control of infectious sources; (2) Identification of county as the basic unit of leprosy elimination; (3) Identification of leprosy being effectively controlled using fixed-duration MDT; (4) Identification of integration of leprosy work into primary health care being effective model for leprosy control. With these strategies, techniques and measures, a total of 98.6% of counties had achieved the goal of elimination of leprosy as public health problem (defined as prevalence rate below 1 per 100,000 population), 90% of counties have met the criteria of basic eradication of leprosy (defined as prevalence below 0.1 per 100,000 population). Meanwhile, disabilities due to leprosy has also been significantly controlled in order to protect labor power. The above-mention progress in leprosy is a great achievement in disease control in China and also provide an example for developing countries, indicating that leprosy can be eliminated and final eradicated in the world.