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. Now that you know
what is Leprosy, the rest of the article would let you know how it is caused and what are its treatment
options.

What is Leprosy Caused by?

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. This was about
the causes of leprosy. Now let us know about the characteristic symptoms and the treatment options.

Leprosy Symptoms

Continuing this piece of information on what is leprosy, as I have mentioned, the condition 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 of leprosy 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

Leprosy Treatment

Most cases 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. And as a summary and a
closing note to this article on what is leprosy, there is a myth that this condition is incurable. This is
however, not true. As you can read in the above segments, 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 other nations, India has been a key model in taking the responsibility of tackling the disease
and reducing its incidences by an appreciable degree