Leprosy is an infectious disease that
causes severe, disfiguring skin sores
and nerve damage in the arms and
legs. The disease has been around
since ancient times, often surrounded
by terrifying, negative stigmas and
tales of leprosy patients being
shunned as outcasts. Outbreaks of
leprosy have affected, and panicked,
people on every continent. The oldest
civilizations of China, Egypt, and India
feared leprosy was an incurable,
mutilating, and contagious
disease .
However, leprosy is actually not that
contagious. You can catch it only if
you come into close and repeated
contact with nose and mouth droplets
from someone with untreated
leprosy. Children are more likely to
get leprosy than adults.
Today, about 180,000 people
worldwide are infected with leprosy,
according to the World Health
Organization, most of them in Africa
and Asia. About 100 people are
diagnosed with leprosy in the U.S.
every year, mostly in the South,
California, Hawaii, and some U.S.
territories.
What Causes Leprosy?
Leprosy is caused by a slow-growing
type of bacteria called Mycobacterium
leprae ( M. leprae ). Leprosy is also
known as Hansen's disease, after the
scientist who discovered M. leprae in
1873.
What Are the Symptoms
of Leprosy?
Leprosy primarily affects the skin and
the nerves outside the brain and
spinal cord, called the peripheral
nerves. It may also strike the eyes and
the thin tissue lining the inside of the
nose.
The main symptom of leprosy is
disfiguring skin sores, lumps, or
bumps that do not go away after
several weeks or months. The skin
sores are pale-colored.
Nerve damage can lead to:
Loss of feeling in the arms and legs
Muscle weakness
It usually takes about 3 to 5 years for
symptoms to appear after coming into
contact with the leprosy-causing
bacteria. Some people do not develop
symptoms until 20 years later. The
time between contact with the
bacteria and the appearance of
symptoms is called the incubation
period. Leprosy's long incubation
period makes it very difficult for
doctors to determine when and where
a person with leprosy got infected.
Forms of Leprosy
Leprosy is defined by the number and
type of skin sores you have. Specific
symptoms and treatment depend on
the type of leprosy you have. |
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