Methods for the Classification of Leprosy for Treatment Purposes

Pardillo, Fe Eleanor F.
Fajardo, Tranquilino T.
Abalos, Rodolfo M.
Scollard, David
Gelber, Robert H.

¹Leonard Wood Memorial Center for Leprosy Research, Cebu City, Philippines
²The Gillis W. Long Hansens Disease Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Robert H. Gelber, 220 Scenic Ave., San Anselmo, CA 94960 ([email protected]).

Received 24 August 2006; accepted 10 January 2007.

Clinical Infectious Diseases 44(8):p 1096-1099, April 15, 2007. | DOI: 10.1086/512809

The World Health Organization advocates 2 leprosy treatment regimens on the basis of disease classification (as multibacillary or paucibacillary) by skin lesion count. This method, which, in the Philippines, results in a high prevalence (78%) of patients with multibacillary leprosy, was directly compared with classification using standard histopathological and microbiological criteria in 264 currently untreated patients with leprosy. Of those whose leprosy was classified as paucibacillary, 38%-51% of patients had multibacillary leprosy according to classic criteria and were thus at risk of undertreatment according to World Health Organization recommendations.