Leprosy

The World Health Organization estimates that there are approximately 11 million patients suffering from leprosy worldwide, of whom about 5 million are registered and thus on treatment or under surveillance.' Among the many and complicated factors that account for the continuing inability to bring this disease under control—even where drugs, funds, and other resources are available—is the poor level of knowledge and clinical expertise among medical students, doctors, and para-medical workers of all kinds. In attempting to remedy this situation, there is, of course, no substitute for the good teacher, together with "hands on" practical experience in the diagnosis, classification, treatment, and general management of patients with leprosy. The reality, however, is that good teachers in this subject are few and far between, and that the systematic teaching of leprosy often has been neglected in schools, even in leprosy-endemic countries.