Leprosy became known as Hansen's disease in 1873 when Norwegian scientist Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen discovered Mycobacterium leprae, the slow-growing bacteria that causes the illness. Affecting the nerves, skin, and lining of the nose, the condition is curable with early diagnosis and treatment.
Once thought to be very contagious and deadly, we know now that leprosy is not easily transmitted and that treatment is efficient. The leprosy-causing bacteria target the nerves, causing them to swell beneath the skin. This results in the affected areas losing their ability to experience feeling and pain, which can lead to injuries such as cuts. The affected skin usually changes color, becoming lighter, darker, or reddish due to inflammation.
Delays in diagnosis and treatment can result in serious consequences, including muscle weakness and deformity. Physical and neurological damage may be irreversible even if the condition is healed, thus early discovery is critical.
Scientists do not know exactly how Hansen’s disease spreads. It may happen when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and a healthy person breathes in the droplets containing the bacteria. However, people cannot catch leprosy by shaking hands or hugging, and mothers cannot transmit the disease to their unborn children.
Hansen's disease primarily affects people living in low-income countries. Due to high expenditures of traveling to the doctor, many people have trouble getting health care. As a result, despite the World Health Organization's (WHO) free treatment program, many do not receive medical care.
People with Hansen's disease may not seek care when the first symptoms arise because of the associated ongoing stigma, resulting in a delay in diagnosis. To successfully eliminate the stigma associated with the disease, education and improved access to basic health services are essential.
People anywhere in the world have an extremely low probability of contracting Hansen's disease. More than 95 percent of the population is naturally immune.
To confirm a diagnosis, doctors take a skin biopsy or nerve biopsy. They also may perform tests to rule out other skin diseases.
Endorsed by the WHO in 1981, multidrug therapy (MDT) including antibiotics is used to treat the disease. Medications can also reduce the chance of contracting leprosy for those who live with people who have the disease. The current MDT protocol consists of three medications: dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine. After a few days of antibiotic treatment, a person with leprosy is no longer contagious.
To ensure that the infection does not return, the treatment must be completed as directed by doctors. The course of treatment normally lasts one to two years. While the treatment can cure the disease and keep it from worsening, it cannot undo nerve damage or physical disfigurement that has already occurred, and diagnosing the disease as soon as possible is critical to prevent permanent nerve damage.
Every year, on the final Sunday in January, World Leprosy Day is commemorated. Started by French philanthropist Raoul Follereau, in 1954, it aims to raise leprosy awareness and teach people about an old disease that can be cured in today’s world.
