Why is leprosy dangerous?

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. First of all, the bacilli affect the skin, peripheral nervous system, respiratory and visual organs.

In the old days, patients with leprosy were called lepers and were almost always sent into exile (by decision of the community by popular vote with potsherds - ostracism). Even the most experienced healers of Ancient Egypt, China, India considered it incurable. For this reason, lepra has received many names: the mournful or Phoenician disease, lazy death, the disease of St. Lazarus.

The modern name of leprosy is hansenosis, hanseniasis (from the name of the Norwegian scientist Gerhard Hansen, who discovered the leprobacterium in 1873).

The pathogen is an acid-resistant rod with pointed ends, which is capable of forming a granular form and an A-form. This mycobacterium multiplies slowly and over time forms a whole family in the body, resembling a cluster of balls.

Remember: infection occurs through the respiratory tract.

Consider:

• A person can become infected only after close, long-term contact with a sick person;
• Children are more susceptible to leprosy than adults.

According to statistics, more than 180 thousand people worldwide suffer from hansenosis, most of whom live in Asia, Africa, and the USA. Treatment of patients takes place in special leprosariums, which protect others from carriers of the disease.

According to the World Health Organization, the following countries remain foci of increased endemicity: Bangladesh, Norway, Angola, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Brazil, the Philippines, Madagascar, the Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Mozambique.

Symptoms:

• skin lesions (ulcers, bumps, seals);
• loss of sensitivity of the peripheral nerve;
• muscle weakness, numbness of the lower (upper) limbs;
• aches in the joints;
• drowsiness, sweating disorders;
• intoxication, headaches pain;
• eyebrow loss, drooping earlobe;
• frequent nosebleeds.

The incubation period can last from 3 to 5 years, rarely - up to 20. To establish a diagnosis, the patient must undergo a biopsy (a research method in which the affected skin area is carefully examined under a microscope).

Types of leprosy:

• tuberculoid (paucibacillary) - a relatively mild course of the disease with the appearance of light spots on the body without thickening;
• lepromatous (multibacillary) - a severe form in which more than 50% of the body is affected with simultaneous spread to internal organs (for example, the kidneys);
• mixed, which is characterized by signs of two previous forms.

Treatment

The rehabilitation course in most cases includes anti-leprosy and anti-inflammatory medications, antibiotics, stimulating drugs (vitamin complexes, immunomodulators, immunoglobulins).

Important: treatment and preventive measures are established exclusively by an infectious disease specialist.

Complications:

• significant change in appearance, sometimes beyond recognition;
• atrophy of the muscular system;
• loss of phalanges of the fingers;
• contracture (tightening) of the hand, foot;
• partial loss of vision, blindness;
• erectile dysfunction (in men), infertility;
• renal failure, tissue necrosis.

Useful advice

Timely visit to the doctor will relieve the consequences of the misfortune, which in the modern world is curable. You will be able to eliminate the symptoms with the help of drug therapy in a couple of months. However, recovery is possible only if all the recommendations of the specialist are followed.