Research progress of leprosy and its control status in Hainan Province / 中国热带医学

ABSTRACT

@#Abstract Leprosy, as an important neglected tropical disease (NTDs), has a tremendous impact on the patients’body and psychology, families and society. In this paper, we reviewed the progress of epidemiology, genetic factors, immune mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of leprosy, and introduced the changes of national prevention and control policies and the prevention and control process of Hainan Province, so as to improve the clinical understanding among healthcare professionals. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) global annual leprosy situation report data, the number of new cases and the incidence rate of leprosy have been showing a downward trend worldwide. In China, the epidemic situation of leprosy remains in an overall low-endemic state. However, the long-standing low-endemic status of leprosy and its wide and uneven distribution pose challenges to the prevention and control of leprosy. The pathogenesis of leprosy is mainly related to skin barrier, immune deficiency, and related signaling pathways. Serological testing, cytokines, and microRNA markers can all be used to assist in the early diagnosis of leprosy, while also helping to distinguish different types of leprosy, predict leprosy reactions, evaluate efficacy, and monitor family contacts. The main treatment plan for leprosy involves combination chemotherapy with drugs recommended by the WHO, such as rifampicin, dapsone, clofazimine and other drugs. Currently, the main prevention and treatment strategies for leprosy are early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment, controlling the source of infection, protecting the healthy population, preventing the occurrence of deformity, and improving the quality of life after recovery. At present, Hainan Province as well as the whole country is in a low-epidemic state, but healthcare professionals still need to improve their awareness of prevention, reduce their incidence rate, and strive to achieve the goal of "zero leprosy" as soon as possible.