Strategies for Reducing Leprosy Stigma

Leprosy is an infectious, chronic, long-lasting disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis that leads to multiple clinical symptoms including skin manifestations, disfigurement, deformity, stigma and disability. The World Health Organization considers leprosy a complex disease that has a great impact on health in addition to causing social, economic and psychological burdens in affected populations. With this review, we intend to demonstrate how the stigmatization of leprosy induces negative behaviors towards patients, impairing their attention and access to diagnosis and treatment and leads to a deterioration in their quality of life.