Editing Leprosy (section)

== Prevention ==
[[File:Leprosy; patients showing symptoms. Wellcome L0077162.jpg|thumb|Leprosy prevention poster]]

Early disease detection is important, since physical and neurological damage may be irreversible even if cured.<ref name="WHO Fact Sheet" /> Medications can decrease the risk of those living with people who have leprosy from acquiring the disease and likely those with whom people with leprosy come into contact outside the home.<ref name="Rod2011" /> The WHO recommends that preventive medicine be given to people who are in close contact with someone who has leprosy.<ref name="WHO2018Tx" /> The suggested preventive treatment is a single dose of [[rifampicin]] in adults and children over 2 years old who do not already have leprosy or tuberculosis.<ref name="WHO2018Tx" /> Preventive treatment is associated with a 57% reduction in infections within 2 years and a 30% reduction in infections within 6 years.<ref name="WHO2018Tx" />

The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin ([[BCG vaccine|BCG]]) vaccine offers a variable amount of protection against leprosy in addition to its closely related target of [[tuberculosis]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Duthie MS, Gillis TP, Reed SG | title = Advances and hurdles on the way toward a leprosy vaccine | journal = Human Vaccines | volume = 7 | issue = 11 | pages = 1172–1183 | date = November 2011 | pmid = 22048122 | pmc = 3323495 | doi = 10.4161/hv.7.11.16848 }}</ref> It appears to be 26% to 41% effective (based on controlled trials) and about 60% effective based on observational studies with two doses possibly working better than one.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Setia MS, Steinmaus C, Ho CS, Rutherford GW | title = The role of BCG in prevention of leprosy: a meta-analysis | journal = The Lancet. Infectious Diseases | volume = 6 | issue = 3 | pages = 162–170 | date = March 2006 | pmid = 16500597 | doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(06)70412-1 }}</ref><ref name="Merle2010">{{cite journal | vauthors = Merle CS, Cunha SS, Rodrigues LC | title = BCG vaccination and leprosy protection: review of current evidence and status of BCG in leprosy control | journal = Expert Review of Vaccines | volume = 9 | issue = 2 | pages = 209–222 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20109030 | doi = 10.1586/ERV.09.161 | s2cid = 34309843 }}</ref> The WHO concluded in 2018 that the BCG vaccine at birth reduces leprosy risk and is recommended in countries with high incidence of TB and people who have leprosy.<ref>{{cite journal | title = BCG vaccine: WHO position paper, February 2018 - Recommendations | journal = Vaccine | volume = 36 | issue = 24 | pages = 3408–3410 | date = June 2018 | pmid = 29609965 | doi = 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.03.009 | s2cid = 4570754 | last1 = World Health Organization }}</ref> People living in the same home as a person with leprosy are suggested to take a BCG booster which may improve their immunity by 56%.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Moraes MO, Düppre NC | title = Leprosy post-exposure prophylaxis: innovation and precision public health | journal = The Lancet. Global Health | volume = 9 | issue = 1 | pages = e8–e9 | date = January 2021 | pmid = 33338461 | doi = 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30512-X | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yamazaki-Nakashimada MA, Unzueta A, Berenise Gámez-González L, González-Saldaña N, Sorensen RU | title = BCG: a vaccine with multiple faces | journal = Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics | volume = 16 | issue = 8 | pages = 1841–1850 | date = August 2020 | pmid = 31995448 | pmc = 7482865 | doi = 10.1080/21645515.2019.1706930 }}</ref> Development of a more effective vaccine is ongoing.<ref name="Rod2011" /><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.leprosy.org/leprosy-vaccine/| title=Leprosy Vaccine| publisher=American Leprosy Missions| access-date=20 October 2015| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115010651/http://www.leprosy.org/leprosy-vaccine/| archive-date=15 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/06/trial-world-first-leprosy-vaccine| title=Trial set for world's first leprosy vaccine| newspaper=[[The Guardian]]| date=6 June 2014| access-date=20 October 2015| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011092728/http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/06/trial-world-first-leprosy-vaccine| archive-date=11 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = | title = China's Mars plans, leprosy vaccine and self-driving taxis | journal = Nature | volume = 537 | issue = 7618 | pages = 12–13 | date = September 2016 | pmid = 27582199 | doi = 10.1038/537012a | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2016Natur.537...12. }}</ref>

A novel vaccine called LepVax entered clinical trials in 2017 with the first encouraging results reported on 24 participants published in 2020.<ref>{{ClinicalTrialsGov|NCT03302897|Phase 1 LEP-F1 + GLA-SE Vaccine Trial in Healthy Adult Volunteers}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Duthie MS, Frevol A, Day T, Coler RN, Vergara J, Rolf T, Sagawa ZK, Marie Beckmann A, Casper C, Reed SG | title = A phase 1 antigen dose escalation trial to evaluate safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the leprosy vaccine candidate LepVax (LEP-F1 + GLA-SE) in healthy adults | journal = Vaccine | volume = 38 | issue = 7 | pages = 1700–1707 | date = February 2020 | pmid = 31899025 | doi = 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.12.050 | s2cid = 209677501 }}</ref> If successful, this would be the first leprosy-specific vaccine available.