LEPROSY

What is Leprosy?

Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy) is an infection caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. These bacteria grow very slowly and it may take up to 20 years to develop signs of the infection.

What are the symptoms of Leprosy?

Symptoms mainly affect the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes (the soft, moist areas just inside the body’s openings).

The disease can cause skin symptoms such as:

Discolored patches of skin, usually flat, that may be numb and look faded (lighter than the skin around)

Growths (nodules) on the skin

Thick, stiff or dry skin

Painless ulcers on the soles of feet

Painless swelling or lumps on the face or earlobes

Loss of eyebrows or eyelashes

Symptoms caused by damage to the nerves are:

Numbness of affected areas of the skin

Muscle weakness or paralysis (especially in the hands and feet)

Enlarged nerves (especially those around the elbow and knee and in the sides of the neck)

Eye problems that may lead to blindness (when facial nerves are affected)

Symptoms caused by the disease in the mucous membranes are:

A stuffy nose

Nosebleeds

Since Hansen’s disease affects the nerves, loss of feeling or sensation can occur. When loss of sensation occurs, injuries such as burns may go unnoticed. Because you may not feel the pain that can warn you of harm to your body, take extra caution to ensure the affected parts of your body are not injured.

If left untreated, the signs of advanced leprosy can include:

Other complications that may sometimes occur are:

Hansen’s disease can be recognized by appearance of patches of skin that may look lighter or darker than the normal skin. Sometimes the affected skin areas may be reddish. Loss of feeling in these skin patches is common. You may not feel a light touch or a prick with a needle.

To confirm the diagnosis, your doctor will take a sample of your skin or nerve (through a skin or nerve biopsy) to look for the bacteria under the microscope and may also do tests to rule out other skin diseases.

To confirm the diagnosis, your doctor will take a sample of your skin or nerve (through a skin or nerve biopsy) to look for the bacteria under the microscope and may also do tests to rule out other skin diseases.

Treatment Procedure

Hansen’s disease is treated with a combination of antibiotics. Typically, 2 or 3 antibiotics are used at the same time. These are dapsone with rifampicin, and clofazimine is added for some types of the disease. This is called multidrug therapy. This strategy helps prevent the development of antibiotic resistance by the bacteria, which may otherwise occur due to length of the treatment.

Treatment usually lasts between one to two years. The illness can be cured if treatment is completed as prescribed.