Leprosy dates back to the Bible, where it was experienced as a punishment from God. XXI centuries later, the government must strive to invest more in prevention campaigns if you want to eradicate the disease in Brazil. Affected figures vary greatly depending on who does the counting, from 2.8 million patients WHO estimates up to twelve million calculated by the International Foundation for the Fight against Leprosy (ILEP). Every year more than 700,000 cases detected over the world, at least 15% of new affected are children. "We simply can not be true that in three years the disease disappears when we consider these numbers," said José Antonio Martínez Paz, director of the Sanatorium Fontilles (Alicante), the last leper colony in Europe. "In fact, it is very difficult to predict the end of leprosy in the world," says Martinez Paz.