User:Mr. Ibrahem/Leprosy
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leprosy, also known as Hansen disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis.[4][8] Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes.[4] This nerve damage may result in a lack of ability to feel pain, which can lead to the loss of parts of a person's extremities from repeated injuries or infection due to unnoticed wounds.[3] An infected person may also experience muscle weakness and poor eyesight.[3] Leprosy symptoms may begin within one year, but for some people symptoms may take 20 years or more to occur.[4]
Leprosy | |
---|---|
Other names | Hansen disease (HD)[1] |
Rash on the chest and abdomen due to leprosy | |
Pronunciation | |
Specialty | Infectious disease |
Symptoms | Decreased ability to feel pain[3] |
Causes | Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis[4][5] |
Risk factors | Close contact with a case of leprosy, living in poverty[3][6] |
Treatment | Multidrug therapy[4] |
Medication | Rifampicin, dapsone, clofazimine[3] |
Frequency | 127,558 (2020)[7] |
Leprosy is spread between people, although extensive contact is necessary.[3][9] About 95% of people who contract M. leprae do not develop the disease.[10] Spread is thought to occur through a cough or contact with fluid from the nose of a person infected by leprosy.[9][10] Genetic factors and immune function play a role in how easily a person catches the disease.[10][11] Leprosy does not spread during pregnancy to the unborn children, or through sexual contact.[9] Leprosy occurs more commonly among people living in poverty.[3] The two main types of disease – paucibacillary and multibacillary – differ in the number of bacteria present.[3] A person with paucibacillary disease has five or fewer poorly pigmented numb skin patches while a person with multibacillary disease has more than five skin patches.[3] The diagnosis is confirmed by finding acid-fast bacilli in a biopsy of the skin.[3]
Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy.[4] Treatment of paucibacillary leprosy is with the medications dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine for six months.[10] Treatment for multibacillary leprosy uses the same medications for 12 months.[10] A number of other antibiotics may also be used.[3] These treatments are provided free of charge by the World Health Organization.[4] People with leprosy can live with their families and go to school and work.[12]
Worldwide, 16 countries account for over 95% of cases, with 80% of the total occurring in India, Brazil and Indonesia.[13] In 2018, there were 209,000 leprosy cases globally, down from 5.2 million in the 1980s.[14][15][16] In the 20 years from 1994 to 2014, 16 million people worldwide were cured of leprosy.[4] 127,558 new cases were detected globally in 2020.[7] About 200 cases per year are reported in the United States.[17] In the US, 90% of cases are imported, but it is endemic in Hawaii and the coasts of southeastern US.[13]
Leprosy has affected humanity for thousands of years.[3] The disease takes its name from the Greek word λέπρᾱ (léprā), from λεπῐ́ς (lepís; "scale"), while the term "Hansen's disease" is named after the Norwegian physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen.[3] Leprosy has historically been associated with social stigma, which continues to be a barrier to self-reporting and early treatment.[4] Separating people affected by leprosy by placing them in leper colonies still occurs in some areas of India,[18] China,[19] Africa.[20] and Thailand.[21] Most colonies have closed, as leprosy is not very contagious.[20] Some consider the word "leper" offensive, preferring the phrase "person affected with leprosy".[22] Leprosy is classified as a neglected tropical disease.[23] World Leprosy Day was started in 1954 to draw awareness to those affected by leprosy.[24]