about leprosy: history

leprosy trials and treatment

1873: Dr. Armauer Hansen of Norway was the first to see the leprosy germ under a microscope. This was 1873, and Hansen's discovery was revolutionary. The evidence was clear for all the world: leprosy is caused by a germ (Mycobacterium leprae). It was not hereditary, a curse, or from sin. Because of Dr. Hansen's work, leprosy is also called Hansen's Disease.

Early 20th century:From the early 1900s through the late 1940s, leprosy doctors in Africa, Asia, the Far East, South America and elsewhere injected patients with oil from the chaulmoogra nut. This painful treatment appeared to work for some patients. Long term benefits were questionable, though.

1941: This year saw the introduction of promin for leprosy treatment at "Carville," the U.S. Public Health Service facility in Louisiana. There was a painful downside to promin: it required too many injections.

1950s: Dr. R.G. Cochrane was a pioneer in the use of dapsone pills which became the treatment of choice during the 1950s. Disappointment followed, though, as the leprosy bacilli began developing dapsone resistance. The germs were becoming smarter than the medicine.

1970s: Success at last! Drug trials on the island of Malta in the 1970s led to an effective combination of drugs to treat leprosy.

1981: In 1981, the World Health Organization started recommending multidrug therapy, or MDT. The three drugs, taken in combination, are dapsone, rifampicin (or rifampin), and clofazimine. Treatment takes from six months to a year or more.

1982: American Leprosy Missions began using multidrug therapy in its projects in 1982. Over the last 18 years, millions of people have been cured using MDT, with virtually no resistance or relapse.

2003: Early treatment with MDT is the best prevention against nerve damage and deformities. There is still no vaccine against this disease, although ALM's centennial campaign seeks to fund vaccine research.


"Once I had a wife and four children," says Generoso. "They were afraid of my disease, though. My wife took the children and left. Now I have no home, no property, no wife. "

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