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Leprosy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a
long-term infection by the
bacteria Mycobacterium leprae or
Mycobacterium lepromatosis.
[4][8] Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes.[4] This nerve damage may result in a lack of ability to feel pain, which can lead to the loss of parts of a person's extremities from repeated injuries or infection due to unnoticed wounds.[3] An infected person may also experience muscle weakness and poor eyesight.[3] Leprosy symptoms may begin within one year, but for some people symptoms may take 20 years or more to occur.[4]
Leprosy is spread between people, although extensive contact is necessary.
[3][9] About 95% of people who contract M. leprae do not develop the disease.[10] Spread is thought to occur through a cough or contact with fluid from the nose of a person infected by leprosy.
[9][10] Genetic factors and immune function play a role in how easily a person catches the disease.
[10][11] Leprosy does not spread during
pregnancy to the unborn children or through sexual contact.
[9] Leprosy occurs more commonly among people living in poverty.
[3] The two main types of disease – paucibacillary and multibacillary – differ in the number of bacteria present.
[3] A person with paucibacillary disease has five or fewer
poorly pigmented numb skin patches while a person with multibacillary disease has more than five skin patches.
[3] The diagnosis is confirmed by finding
acid-fast bacilli in a biopsy of the skin.
[3]
Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy.[4] Treatment of paucibacillary leprosy is with the medications dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine for six months.[10] Treatment for multibacillary leprosy uses the same medications for 12 months.
[10] A number of other antibiotics may also be used.
[3] These treatments are provided free of charge by the
World Health Organization.
[4] People with leprosy can live with their families and go to school and work.
[12] In 2018, there were 209,000 leprosy cases globally, down from 5.2 million in the 1980s.
[7][13][14] The number of new cases in 2016 was 216,000.
[4] Most new cases occur in 14 countries, with India accounting for more than half.
[3][4] In the 20 years from 1994 to 2014, 16 million people worldwide were cured of leprosy.
[4] About 200 cases per year are reported in the United States.
[15]
Leprosy has affected humanity for thousands of years.
[3] The disease takes its name from the
Greek word λέπρᾱ (
léprā), from λεπῐ́ς (
lepís; "scale"), while the term "Hansen's disease" is named after the Norwegian physician
Gerhard Armauer Hansen.
[3] Leprosy has historically been associated with
social stigma, which continues to be a barrier to self-reporting and early treatment.
[4] Separating people affected by leprosy by placing them in
leper colonies still occurs in some areas of India,
[16] China,
[17] Africa.
[18] and Thailand.
[19] Most colonies have closed, as leprosy is not very contagious.
[18] Some consider the word "leper" offensive, preferring the phrase "person affected with leprosy".
[20] Leprosy is classified as a
neglected tropical disease.
[21] World Leprosy Day was started in 1954 to draw awareness to those affected by leprosy.
[22]