What is Leprosy

Also known as Hansen's disease, leprosy is a condition that has a slow developing nature, and mostly affect the cooler places of the body. According to experts the time taken by this disease to develop may range from a mere 6 months to 40 years. The areas of the body such as the eyes, earlobes, hands, testicles and nose are the ones which show the first signs of this disease. If left untreated, the disease may cause damage to the skin, nerves, along with the eyes and limbs, permanently.

What Causes Leprosy?

Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis are the organisms which are responsible for causing this chronic disease. The first bacterium is aerobic and rod-shaped organism, that is known to thrive in certain human cells and that of animals. In case of humans, cells that cover and protect nerve axons are known to be the targeted area. The latter one however, is a new discovery. Now, M. leprae is also known as 'acid fast' bacterium, given its chemical characteristics. The reason the cooler areas of the body tend to be affected by this organism is because of its survival nature. It grows optimally at 80.9 °F - 86 °F, which happens to be the temperature of the areas which I had mentioned earlier.

Main Symptoms

As I have mentioned, leprosy is a slow progressing one, and so are its symptoms. And the symptoms which do occur, tend to be of a subtle nature and so are not detected easily. Moreover, by the time the classic symptoms occur, the disease might already have reached an extreme stage. The common symptoms include:

• Numbness
• Loss of sensation of hot or cold temperatures
• Sensation of pain declines
• Ulcers which do not seem to pain
• Skin lesions
• Dry eyes
• Blinking less often
• Loss of digits
• Disfigurement of the facial area

Treatment

Most cases of leprosy are generally treated with the help of antibiotics. The nature of the disease determines the dosages and duration for which the drugs would be administered. According to what experts say, patients are put on antibiotics for about 6 - 12 months, or probably more for some. Also, it is known that, whatever damage that has been incurred by the body because of the condition, before the administration of antibiotics, is irreversible. And as far as prevention is concerned, avoiding contact with the fluids of the patient, is considered to be the only way. If antibiotics are administered properly, then the risk of spreading the disease to others can be cut by a great extent. However, it should also be known, unlike what most people think, this disease is not highly contagious. In fact, about 95% of exposures result in no disease.

As of now, there is no vaccine which can provide immunity against leprosy. The notion that this condition is incurable is a myth. As you can infer from the above description, proper usage of drugs is highly effective in treating this disease. The World Health Organization has made diligent efforts to reduce the incidence of leprosy. There has been a reduction of cases by 20% according to the reports for the year 2003-2004. Among all nations, India has been a key model in taking the responsibility of tackling this disease, and reducing its incidences significantly.