Treatment and chemotherapy

Treatment of leprosy with sulphones was first introduced in 1943 and the use of dapsone (DDS; 4,4-diaminodiphenyl sulphone), in 1947. In 1981, the WHO, recommended the use of multidrug therapy comprising of dapsone, clofazimine and rifampin. Since then the number of registered cases under treatment worldwide has declined from about 12 million to less than one million in 1999.