PEP4LEP news
The PEP4LEP project was running from 1 October 2018 until 30 September 2024.
We would like to share a selection of PEP4LEP’s (preliminary) results and achievements:
- In intervention 1 (skin camp) 156 index patients were included and 15,875 contact were screened and received SDR-PEP, a total of 189 new leprosy patients were found.
- In intervention 2 (health centre based) 256 index patients were included and 907 contact were screened and received SDR-PEP, a total of 14 new leprosy patients were found.
- A high number of contacts screened and received SDR-PEP, especially in skin camps
- Many new patients have been identified >1 per 100 contacts screened
- No refusal of taking SDR were seen in the skin camp and <1% in the health centres
- Almost 50% of contacts in skin camps were detected with ≥1 skin diseases, >1% new leprosy patients detected versus 14% in the health centres which is a high percentage when comparing this to other contexts
- 10 open-access publications in renown peer-reviewed medical scientific journals
- At different conferences (EDCTP Forum, ILC, WHO Skin NTD Meeting, ECTMIH, LRI Spring Meeting, COR-NTD, etc.), PEP4LEP was presented by junior researchers and other PEP4LEP consortium members
- Two PhD candidates finished their PhDs on topics related to the project: one in Ethiopia and one in the Netherlands
Developed project tools & materials:
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on skin screening, SDR-PEP and skin camp organisation have been made open-access available via infoLep
- The NLR Skin Games, two printable card games developed for interactive health worker training on integrated skin disease screening, are available in English and Portuguese via infoNTD
- The Health Workers Pocket Information Card on skin screening and SDR-PEP administration can be found infoLep
- The validated Case Detection Delay Tool including the questionnaire is also downloadable in various languages via infoLep.org
Scientific publications by the PEP4LEP Consortium:
- PEP4LEP study protocol: integrated skin screening and SDR-PEP administration for leprosy prevention: comparing the effectiveness and feasibility of a community-based intervention to a health centre-based intervention in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania | Schoenmakers et al., BMJ Open, 2021
- Development of a questionnaire to determine the case detection delay of leprosy: A mixed-methods cultural validation study | De Bruijne et al., PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2022
- Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia | Urgesa et al., PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2022
- PEP4LEP research and its contribution to capacity building | Mieras, Leprosy Review, 2022
- Leprosy epidemiological trends and diagnosis delay in three districts of Tanzania: A baseline study | Mwageni et al,, Leprosy Review, 2022
- Epidemiological trends of leprosy and case detection delay in East Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia: A baseline survey | Mamo et al., Leprosy Review, 2022
- Leprosy indicators and diagnosis delay in Mogovolas, Meconta and Murrupula district of Nampula Province, Mozambique: A baseline survey | Marega et al., Leprosy Review, 2022
- Establishing a standard method for analysing case detection delay in leprosy using a Bayesian modelling approach | Hambridge et al., Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 2023
- The NLR SkinApp: Testing a Supporting mHealth Tool for Frontline Health Workers Performing Skin Screening in Ethiopia and Tanzania | Mwageni et al., Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2024
- Case detection delay in leprosy: Testing tool reliability and measurement consistency in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania | Mamo, et al., PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2024
PEP4LEP Newsletters:
Blog
Read the popular PEP4LEP NLR blog ‘Why global dermatological care should not be overlooked’ on integrated skin screening and skin camps here.
Funding
