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Furylf uramide(2-(2-f uryl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl) acrylamide) is a chemical which had been used widely in such foods as soybean caud, fish paste product and fish sausage as a food preservative in Japan from 1965 to 1974. The effects of furylfuramide on pregnant mice, fetuses and neonates were studies in ICR: JCL mice for three generations. Furylf uramide at dietary concentations of 0.1 or 0.5% was fed to both male and female weanling mice (F0). Thereafter the same dietary concentrations were administered continuously to each generation until F2 offspring were 60 days of age. Hepatic enlargement and degenerative hepatic changes were consistently found in the treated dams and their offspring. High mortality in F1 neonates and poor conception in F1 dams occurred in the group fed 0.5% furylf uramide. Suppression of body weight gain was also observed in pregnant mice and offspring at the 0.5% level. However, continuous administration of f urylf uramide for three generations did not increase fetal mortality nor did it cause major malformations.

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) set the global goal of leprosy elimination in 2000, many countries have successfully achieved elimination. Indonesia has achieved elimination at a national level, but several provinces and areas still have a high prevalence rate. South Sulawesi is one of 6 provinces on Sulawesi Island, and 5 of these provinces still have many leprosy patients with a prevalence rate of more than 1.1 per 10,000 population and new cases are detected every year. The leprosy control program has not been successful in reducing the prevalence of this disease and 22 out of 27 regencies have, on average, a prevalence rate of 2.3 cases per 10,000 population, of which child cases account for more than 5%, indicating that there are many more leprosy cases in the community. The leprosy control program has been helped by the multi drug therapy (MDT) regimen based on the WHO recommendation and several research studies carried out in the area. However, we as yet do not have a clear idea how to eliminate leprosy in South Sulawesi and further research is required.

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