Treatment: How is leprosy treated? Medication, antibiotics. Do we have a vaccine?

Treatment options...

In modern healthcare, treatment is now available for all types and forms of leprosy.

Treatment consists of the administration of specific types of antibiotics (rifampicin, clofazimine, etc.). The patient takes them individually on a long-term basis for one to two years.

Anti-inflammatory drugs are usually part of the treatment. Movement therapy and rehabilitation are indicated against muscle contractures and muscle atrophy. In worse cases of late diagnosis, the resulting deformity is resolved by surgery and prosthesis.

Vaccination and a vaccine against leprosy do not currently exist. However, the tuberculosis vaccine has proved effective and has shown some protection against leprosy. Clinical trials of this vaccine are currently under way.

Complications in treatment are mainly due to late diagnosis and the presence of already serious consequences (body deformity, permanent nerve damage, blindness, infertility, kidney failure, etc.).