According to the National Leprosy Eradication Programme of India, a patient classified as paucibacillary leprosy should receive which multidrug therapy regimen?

• A Monthly supervised rifampicin plus daily self-administered dapsone for 6 months ✓
• B Monthly supervised rifampicin, daily clofazimine and daily dapsone for 12 months
• C Daily dapsone monotherapy for 2 years
• D Monthly supervised rifampicin plus daily dapsone for 24 months

Explanation

Paucibacillary leprosy (1 to 5 lesions, smear negative) is treated with rifampicin 600 mg once monthly, supervised, plus dapsone 100 mg daily, self-administered, for a total of 6 months. Multibacillary regimens add clofazimine and extend to 12 months under current NLEP practice. Dapsone monotherapy is obsolete because it rapidly selects resistant mutants of M. leprae.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

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