01302nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653004100066653001100107653001000118653001400128653001200142653003100154653002300185100001400208700001600222245003300238300001000271490000700281520075800288022001401046       2012                            d  c2012 Jun10aBrazil10aDrug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial10aHumans10aIndia10aIndonesia10aleprosy10aMicrobiological Techniques10aModels, Biological1 aBourée P1 aCarsalade G00a[Current status of leprosy].  a751-50 v623 a<p>Leprosy, known since antiquity, is a world infectious disease due to Mycobacterium leprae. The transmission is probably via nasal droplets. The clinical range, from tuberculoid to lepromatous leprosy is a result of variation in the cell-mediated immune response, with a chronic inflammation in skin and peripheral nerves. Diagnosis of leprosy is clinical with anesthetic skin lesion and skin smears detect acid fast bacilli. Besides the classification of patients due to the Ridley scale which is clinically useful, WHO proposed is a simple field classification based on the number of skin patches (paucibacillary or multibacillary). Despite an effective multidrug therapy, leprosy has not been eliminated and remains an important health problem.</p>  a0035-2640