01559nas a2200145   4500000000100000008004100001260001500042653001200057653002200069653002500091100001400116245004600130300000700176520123000183       2018                            d  bIntechOpen10aleprosy10aMultidrug therapy10aMycobacterium leprae1 aMawardi P00aLeprosy: The Ancient and Stubborn Disease  a163 a<p>Leprosy can be caused by an infection of Mycobacterium leprae commonly acquired through contact with an infected person. Clinical presentation depends on the patient’s immune status at the time of infection and during the course of disease. Leprosy is associated with disability and marginalization. The Global Leprosy Strategy 2016–2020 releasedinApril2016underscoreditsgoalof “acceleratingtowardsaleprosyfree-world.” Today’sleprosydiffersfromtheleprosyofthepast,butyettherearestillmanythingsthat are not immediately known, so it is still a broad socioeconomic challenge for scientists to solve. Leprosy has low pathogenicity, only a small proportion of infected people develop signs of the disease. If leprosy is not diagnosed and treated in the early stages, further progress of the disease is determined by the strength of the patient’s immune response. Various clinical signs can be known during the early phase of leprosy, defined as indeterminate phase, so that it is difficult to diagnose the disease. Multidrug therapy (MDT) was recommended as the standard treatment. The morbidity report of leprosy will be important in epidemiology because it is based on real events and not based on estimate.</p>