Anti-leprosy vaccines--field trials and future prospects.

Development of a vaccine for prevention of leprosy is today one of the major challenges for bio-medical sciences. Two vaccines containing (i) M. leprae + BCG and (ii) ICRC, a cultivable mycobacterium, have reached advanced stage with reference to human trials. This article describes comparative features of two vaccines and mechanism of their action. Future possibilities with reference to anti-leprosy vaccine are also discussed.