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Why did the World Health Organization recommend combination drug treatment for leprosy in the 1980s?

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Sign reading Gandhiji Prem Nivas Leprosy Centre Titagarh conducted by Missionaries of Charity, with a crucifix above the sign on a decorated building facade. — leprosy The Gandhiji Prem Nivas is a center for people with leprosy that was established by Mother Teresa in 1958 and is run by the Missionaries of Charity in Titagarh, India.

In the early 1980s, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of multidrug therapy for leprosy primarily to combat the emergence of drug resistance.21

Following the introduction of sulfones as the first effective treatment for leprosy in the 1940s, researchers eventually observed that some strains of Mycobacterium leprae were becoming resistant to these drugs, as well as to rifampicin, which had been introduced in the 1960s. By using a combination of two or more antileprosy drugs, clinicians could effectively kill the bacilli while preventing the development of these resistant strains.12

This multidrug regimen, which limits treatment to a specific duration—six months for localized cases and two years for more advanced cases—became the global standard of care after proving successful in clinical practice.21