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( Leprosy)
Leprosy (from the Greek lepi (??p?), meaning scales on a fish), or Hansen's disease, is a chronic disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.[1] Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom.[2] Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Contrary to popular belief, leprosy does not actually cause body parts to simply fall off.[3] Historically, leprosy has affected mankind since at least 600 BC, and was well-recognized in the civilizations of ancient China, Egypt and India.[4] In 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that between two and three million people were permanently disabled because of leprosy.[5] Although the forced quarantine or segregation of patients is unnecessary—and can be considered unethical—a few leper colonies still remain around the world, in countries such as India, Japan, Egypt, Nepal and Vietnam. It is now commonly believed that many of the people who were segregated into these communities were presumed to have leprosy, when they actually had syphilis. Leprosy is not highly infectious, as approximately 95% of people are immune and sufferers are no longer infectious after only a couple of days on treatment. They would not have spread leprosy through a community; whereas syphilis, which has similar symptoms, is more contagious. One of the first signs of leprosy is the unexpected loss of eyelashes. The age-old social stigma associated with the advanced form of leprosy lingers in many areas, and remains a major obstacle to self-reporting and early treatment. Effective treatment for leprosy appeared in the late 1930s with the introduction of dapsone and its derivatives. However, leprosy bacilli resistant to dapsone gradually evolved and became widespread, and it was not until the introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT) in the early 1980s that the disease could be diagnosed and treated successfully within the community.[citation needed] The clinical symptoms of leprosy vary but primarily affect the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes.[6] Patients with this chronic infectious disease are classified as having paucibacillary Hansen's disease (tuberculoid leprosy), multibacillary Hansen's disease (lepromatous leprosy), or borderline leprosy.
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Leprosy Subcategories
Leprosy Articles
Treatment and Care for Leprosy by Sharon Samraj
Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world and it causes physical deformities and damages the nerves. However, medical opinion says it can be cured by a sustained year-long antibiotic treatment. Treatment of leprosy generally differs...
Leprosy by donald anderson
Leprosy, or Hansen disease, is a slowly progressive infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae, affecting the skin and peripheral nerves and resulting in disabling deformities. M.leprae is for the most part contained within the skin, but
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