Introduction
The Leprosy Post-Exposure-Prophylaxis (LPEP) programme was designed to establish evidence of the feasibility and impact of a single dose rifampicin as leprosy post-exposure prophylaxis, given to contacts of leprosy patients.
The LPEP programme was implemented in the leprosy control programmes of selected areas in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tanzania between 2015 and 2018 (the LPEP programme in Cambodia is still ongoing). Contacts of newly diagnosed leprosy patients were screened for signs and symptoms of leprosy and given SDR-PEP when eligible. In total more than 150,000 contacts of over 9,000 leprosy patients received SDR-PEP, showing that it was feasible to integrate post-exposure chemoprophylaxis with routine leprosy control activities. Less than one percent of the contacts refused to accept SDR-PEP. Overall the LPEP program invigorated the leprosy control in general.
The LPEP programme was a collaboration between Novartis Foundation, NLR, American Leprosy Missions, the German Leprosy Relief Association, FAIRMED, Erasmus Medical Center, the Swiss Tropical Public Health Institute and the national leprosy programs of Indonesia, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Brazil and Cambodia.