Leprosy

 Stephanie Dong & Tara Thomas = Name and Origin = 1 777 Since Biblical times, Leprosy was considered a contagious, mutilating and incurable disease. Among medical practitioners nowadays, this disease is often referred to as “Hansen’s disease,” because Gerhard Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian doctor, first discovered the bacterium that causes Leprosy in 1837. Moreover, the use of the term “Hansen’s disease” is encouraged to avoid the stigmas of fear and seclusion associated with “leprosy.”
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= Infectious Agent =





777 Leprosy is caused a by rod-shaped bacterium called // Mycobacterium leprae //, // M. leprae // for short. This is an intracellular bacterium, meaning it only grows inside certain cells of human and animals. Since leprosy is a bacterial disease, antibiotics can and are being used for treatment.

Effects of Leprosy 777 The effects of leprosy can range from muscle weakness to skin sores to nerve damage; although the disease can be treated and overcome, its effects, however, are permanent. First of all, leprosy cause sores/boils to appear upon an inflicted person’s skin. Developing anywhere between six weeks and months after a person is infected, these sores will result in a decreased sense of touch, pain, and heat. Furthermore, a person who is infected with leprosy will also experience a decrease in muscular strength. Ulcers (holes in the stomach lining due to increased acidity of the stomach acid) may begin to appear over a period of time, as well.

777 Leprosy will also cause damage in the peripheral nervous system, mainly on the cooler places on the body—specifically the hands, arms, feet, legs, eyes, nose, and earlobes. This will cause a decline in the ability to feel pain. Due to the lack of pain as a warning sign, a person becomes more prone to injuries, which will also result in an increase in infections and lead to the loss of tissue and possible amputations or deformities. Likewise, nerve damage may also cause the person to lose control of their eyelids, which may cause dryness or numbness and, in extreme cases, loss of sight.



= Treatment =

777 In order to treat the disease doctors have developed a multi-drug therapy (MDT) specifically designed to kill the bacteria. This therapy is usually a combination of dapsone, rifampin, and clofazimine; other drugs and antibiotics can also be used to kill the bacteria and control inflammation. The treatment process is very effective at killing the // M. leprae //, but it will take any amount of time from six months to two years to complete. Still, about 8% of patients do experience a negative reaction to the treatment process. Although the disease causing bacteria will be purged from the patient after MDT, the damage and deformation caused by the disease will remain. As a result of this patients may choose to have surgery, cosmetic or practical, once they are cured, in order to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives.



= Routes of Transmission =

777 Scientis ts have not entirely confirmed how leprosy is spread; although it is certain that prolonged close contact with an infected person is an important part of the process of transference. It is widely believed and accepted that the bacteria enters into a person’s body through the nasal passages and possibly directly into the bloodstream via small cuts and scrapes. In other words, the bacteria becomes airborne when an infected person sneezes or coughs and thus infecting everyone who is around them, when they expelled the disease into the surrounding area. Likewise, even though chimpanzees, mangabey monkeys, and nine-banded armadillos can also carry the disease, it is believed that they rarely, if at all, transmit leprosy to humans. Also, the diagnosis of leprosy is more common in warm and humid climates, such as the tropics and the sub-tropics. This is probably due to fact that the bacteria, //M. leprae//, will be able to survive longer outside the body in those conditions. Over 95% of the human populations on this planet have natural immunity to the disease. Nevertheless, people of any age, from early infancy to very old, can be infected, and children are more susceptible than adults. Lastly, leprosy has a very long incubation (inactive) period; it could take anywhere between 6 months to 40 years for the full symptoms of the infection to show up.



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= Prevention =

777 Since most humans have natural immunity to leprosy, prevention of the disease is not a general concern. However, it is known that people who live with untreated patients are 8 times more likely to become infected with leprosy as well. Additionally, although some vaccines have been created, no publicly accepted vaccine exists for leprosy. Therefore the only real way to prevent the spread of leprosy is early treatment (via MDT).



= Sources =

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