Leprosy

Relapse following multi-drug therapy (MDT) is very rare; in one study, the cumulative risk of relapse was 2.24%.[51]Rajkumar P, Chethrapilly Purushothaman GK, Ponnaiah M, et al. Low risk of relapse and deformity among leprosy patients who completed multi-drug therapy regimen from 2005 to 2010: a cohort study from four districts in South India. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Nov;15(11):e0009950. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8610257 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34813598?tool=bestpractice.com Patients are asked to return to the health centre if they find a new skin patch. All Mycobacterium leprae from patients who relapse remain susceptible to rifampicin and clofazimine and respond favourably to a second course of MDT.