01379nas a2200169   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653001100059653002300070653001200093100001500105245006900120300001100189490000700200520098800207022001401195       2009                            d  c2009 Nov-Dec10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy1 aWorobec SM00aTreatment of leprosy/Hansen's disease in the early 21st century.  a518-370 v223 a<p>Leprosy, or Hansen's disease (HD), is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a slowly dividing mycobacterium that has evolved to be an intracellular parasite, causing skin lesions and nerve damage. Less than 5% of people exposed to M. leprae develop clinical disease. Host cell-mediated resistance determines whether an individual will develop paucibacillary or multibacillary disease. Hansen's disease is a worldwide disease with about 150 new cases reported annually in the United States. Effective anti-mycobacterial treatments are available, and many patients experience severe reversal and erythema nodosum leprosum reactions that also require treatment. Leprosy has been the target of a World Health Organization multiple drug therapy campaign to eliminate it as a national public health problem in member countries, but endemic regions persist. In the United States, the National Hansen's Disease Program has primary responsibility for medical care, research, and information.</p>  a1529-8019