If we can interrupt the transmission of infection with leprosy organisms in the community, will that be enough to eliminate the disease as a public health problem?
With very high MDT coverage, it is expected that the pool of infectious sources will be virtually wiped out in the course of time, and transmission of infection with M. leprae will cease. However, it is likely that new cases will be occurring that are not brought about by continued transmission of infection but simply the result of infections acquired several years earlier.
