Americares

Americares will provide TA, the drug clofazimin, and laboratory equipment and services required to conduct the field tests. Overall management and logistical support for the tests will be provided by the Biomedical Institute of Venezuela, under the guidance of PAHO. All leprosy patients in Venezuela will be treated with a supervised multi-drug therapy (rifampicin, clofazimin, and dapsone), as recommended in 1982 by a WHO study group in light of the growing evidence of disease resistance to the traditional treatment with dapsone alone. The first year approximately 3,000 patients will be examined, followed by about 4,000 in the second, and about 3,000 in the third. By the end of the treatment period (2 years for multibacillary cases and 1 year for paucibacillary ones), a medical and bacteriological examination will be carried out to determine if the patient is cured and can be released. Follow-ups will be conducted to recognize eventual relapses or reinfections. In order to identify persons at risk of developing leprosy, patients" intra- and extradomiciliary contacts will be identified (ca. 20 per patient) and registered. These contacts will undergo skin tests (soluble-antigen, Mitsuda) and immunoserological studies (E.L.I.S.A.) to determine high-risk groups. Those identified as at risk of developing leprosy will receive either vaccination or prophylaxis, annual immunodiagnostic tests, and other studies. Short-term training and retraining of medical and auxiliary personnel involved in the project will be held at the central level and in the field.