What is Leprosy Causes Symptoms Transmission and Treatment
What is Leprosy?
Leprosy is a bacterial infectious disease that can cause severe skin sores and damage nerves in the limbs. This effect of this chronic infection can lead to disfigurement, discolouration, deformities, and lumps on the skin.
The outbreak of this disease can be seen on all continents. In ancient times, leprosy had been known as a contagious disease. However, in modern medical science, leprosy is not considered contagious. It only spreads if a person gets in contact with the nose and mouth droplets of a leprosy patient regularly.
This disease majorly affects skin, eyes, peripheral nerves, and upper respiratory tract with visible leprosy symptoms. Also, in most cases, the leprosy disease transmits through respiratory routes. Nonetheless, insects can not transmit leprosy.
Leprosy Causes
Leprosy is caused by bacteria called mycobacterium leprae that grows slowly with time. Another name of this infectious disease is Hansen’s disease. This name was given after scientist Dr Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, the discoverer of the bacteria -M. leprae.
Types of Leprosy
Depending on the severity of signs and symptoms, leprosy can be classified into six categories.
Intermediate Leprosy
Intermediate leprosy is the first stage of leprosy. During this early stage, the flat lesion is the symptom, and it does not show any progression if the patient has strong immunity.
Tuberculoid Leprosy
This is a less severe and mild kind of leprosy. Tuberculoid leprosy shows patches of pale-coloured and flat skin with no sensation on it. Due to the nerve damage, patients cannot feel any sensation on the affected parts of their bodies. This infection can be healed by itself or also progressed to the next stage.
Borderline Tuberculoid Leprosy
This infection has almost similar symptoms as the tuberculoid stage. However, the number of infections can be more, which can progress to tuberculoid or other advanced stages.
Mid-Borderline Leprosy
The symptoms are similar to the previous version of leprosy with numbness and reddish plaque. This infection can progress as well as regress to another stage.
Borderline Leprosy
This is mostly a cutaneous skin condition that includes several wounds with plaque, bumps, etc. that can advance or regress.
Lepromatous Leprosy
It is the most infectious and severe type of leprosy among all with multiple lesions. The affected body parts can have numbness, bumps, rashes, and muscle weakness. Severe symptoms can include hair loss, limb weakness, and body parts like the male reproductive system, kidney and nose can get affected. Moreover, this type of leprosy never regresses.
Exercise
1. Leprosy is Caused By Which Bacteria?
Ans. The bacteria called mycobacterium leprae is the reason for leprosy.
2. How Many Types of Leprosy are There?
Ans. Six types of leprosy are there –
Intermediate
Tuberculoid
Borderline tuberculoid
Mid-borderline
Borderline
Lepromatous
Signs and Symptoms of Leprosy
The initial signs of leprosy appear on the skin, and then these gradually move towards peripheral nerves situated on the outside of the brain and spinal cord. The period between symptoms appearance and being exposed is termed as the incubation period.
Doctors find it difficult to diagnose if this period increases.
Here are Some Leprosy Symptoms -
Bleeding from nose
Growth or bumps on the skin
Enlargement of nerves.
Severe pain.
Visible ulcers on feet sole.
Dry, stiff, and thick skin.
Paralysis and muscle weakness.
Numbness on different body parts like arms, hands, legs, and feet.
Lesions without any sensation on them.
Vision problems that can even lead to blindness.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Leprosy
Depending on leprosy symptoms, this disease is diagnosed by skin test or biopsy of the lesion. Based on the type of infection, the treatment process is chosen.
Doctors prescribe one or multiple antibiotics for a long-time to treat leprosy. Sometimes the medicine can last more than one year. However, antibiotics can only treat bacteria. Thus, to reduce the nerve pain, doctors recommend some anti-inflammatory drugs.
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FAQs on Leprosy Hansen Disease Overview and Biology
1. What is leprosy?
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae that mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, and mucous membranes. It is also known as Hansen’s disease.
- Primarily damages the peripheral nerves, leading to loss of sensation.
- Causes skin lesions such as patches or nodules.
- Progresses slowly and can take years to show symptoms.
- Is curable with appropriate multidrug therapy (MDT).
2. What causes leprosy?
Leprosy is caused by the slow-growing bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast bacillus. This bacterium infects mainly the skin and nerves.
- It multiplies very slowly, with a long incubation period (2–5 years or more).
- It targets Schwann cells in peripheral nerves.
- It spreads through prolonged close contact, likely via respiratory droplets.
3. How is leprosy transmitted?
Leprosy is transmitted through prolonged close contact with untreated individuals, mainly via respiratory droplets from the nose and mouth. It is not highly contagious.
- Requires long-term exposure to an infected person.
- Not spread by casual contact like handshakes.
- Most people have natural immunity to Mycobacterium leprae.
4. What are the early symptoms of leprosy?
The early symptoms of leprosy include light or reddish skin patches with reduced sensation and numbness in affected areas. Loss of pain and temperature sensation is a key sign.
- Painless skin lesions.
- Numbness or tingling in hands and feet.
- Muscle weakness due to nerve involvement.
5. How does leprosy affect the nervous system?
Leprosy affects the nervous system by infecting and damaging the peripheral nerves, leading to sensory loss and muscle weakness. The bacterium invades Schwann cells, which insulate nerve fibers.
- Causes loss of pain and temperature sensation.
- Leads to muscle paralysis in severe cases.
- Untreated nerve damage can result in deformities.
6. What are the types of leprosy?
Leprosy is classified into different types based on immune response, mainly tuberculoid, lepromatous, and borderline forms. The severity depends on the body’s immune reaction.
- Tuberculoid leprosy: Few lesions, strong immune response.
- Lepromatous leprosy: Many lesions, weak immune response.
- Borderline leprosy: Features between the two extremes.
7. Is leprosy curable?
Yes, leprosy is completely curable with early treatment using multidrug therapy (MDT). MDT is recommended by the World Health Organization.
- Combines antibiotics such as dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine.
- Treatment duration ranges from 6 to 12 months or longer.
- Early treatment prevents permanent nerve damage.
8. What is the difference between tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy?
The main difference between tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy is the strength of the immune response and the number of lesions. Tuberculoid shows strong immunity, while lepromatous shows weak immunity.
- Tuberculoid: Few skin patches, low bacterial load, localized nerve damage.
- Lepromatous: Numerous lesions, high bacterial load, widespread involvement.
- Immune response determines disease severity.
9. Why does leprosy cause deformities?
Leprosy causes deformities because prolonged nerve damage leads to loss of sensation and repeated unnoticed injuries. Secondary infections and muscle paralysis worsen tissue damage.
- Loss of pain sensation leads to untreated wounds.
- Muscle weakness causes clawed hands or foot drop.
- Early treatment can prevent most deformities.
10. How is leprosy diagnosed?
Leprosy is diagnosed based on clinical signs such as skin lesions with sensory loss and confirmed by detecting Mycobacterium leprae in skin smears or biopsies. Laboratory confirmation supports clinical findings.
- Examination of skin patches for reduced sensation.
- Skin smear test to detect acid-fast bacilli.
- Skin biopsy for histopathological examination.
