01570nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653001100066653001100077653001800088653001200106653000900118100001500127700001700142700001400159700001500173245007900188300001100267490000600278520103000284022001401314       1998                            d  c1998 Sep10aBrazil10aFemale10aHumans10aLatin America10aleprosy10aMale1 aLombardi C1 aMartolli C M1 aSilva S A1 aSuarez R E00a[Eradication of leprosy in the Americas: current status and perspectives].  a149-550 v43 a<p>Leprosy, a disease that used to be shrouded in darkness and fear, can now be cured thanks to a multidrug treatment schedule with rifampicin, clofazimine, and dapsone which has been in use since 1981. In 1991 the World Health Assembly, encouraged by the efficacy of this treatment regimen, established the goal of eliminating the disease as a public health problem globally and nationally by the year 2000. This goal, which calls for reducing disease prevalence to less than one case per 10,000 inhabitants, should not be confused with the goal of eradicating the disease, which implies a complete interruption of its transmission. Eliminating leprosy is an attainable goal which will depend on the forceful and massive use of the multidrug treatment regimen. This paper describes and discusses the various initiatives that have been launched in Latin America for the purpose of achieving this goal and the results obtained so far. It also explores the factors that impact on the feasibility of eradicating the disease.</p>  a1020-4989