What causes leprosy?

Answer 1

Please see the webpages for more details on Leprosy in this website itself.
Leprosy- A progressive and contagious disease, endemic in warmer climates, and characterized by granulomatous formation in the nerves or on the skin. Caused by Mycobacterium Leprae.
Lepromatous leprosy- that form in which bacilli is abundant from the beginning, nerve damage occurs only slowly, and the skin reaction to lepromin is negative; the only form which may regularly serve as a source of infection.
Tuberculoid leprosy- the "polar" type of leprosy in which the bacilli are few or lacking by ordinary methods of examination and nerve damage occurs early; the patient is only rarely a source of infection to others.

Answer 2

Leprosy is a slightly contageous disease caused by a tiny rod-like germ called Mycobacterium Leprae (M.leprae);first signs of infection after an incubation period of from two to five years.

The early signs and symptoms can vary considerably, depending on the patient’s resistance to the disease. They can be easily missed or mistaken for some other disease by the untrained person. People with lepromatous leprosy usually develop a skin rash or nodules while tuberculoid leprosy might first show itself as an area of numbness or “pins and needles”. Dark-skinned people sometimes have patches which are paler in colour than their normal skin. There is no one “first sign” of leprosy and careful examination by a competent doctor with the examination of skin smears under a microscope are necessary for correct diagnosis

The most commonly used drug has been “diamino-diphenyl-sulphone” (DDS or Dapsone) . But because of the widespread incidence of Dapsone resistance over recent years, the World Health Organisation now recommends using several drugs in combination for the treatment of leprosy. The most useful of these are - Rifampicin, Clofazamine and Dapsone. This multi-drug-therapy (MDT) greatly increases the cost of treatment, but also considerably reduces the length of time a patient needs treatment.

Answer 3

Leprosy is caused by a micro-organism which is very similar to the one that causes tuberculosis. The germ lives in the nerves and after years of infection destroys the nerves which carry "pain" messages to the brain. Leprosy can be cured if the person takes antibiotics for an extended period, but in most of the coutries where it exists the cure is too expensive for them to afford, tragically enough. The reason people lose their fingers, toes, noses, and go blind is not because the flesh is "bad" in some way, but because they no longer have the messages of pain and so walk on sores that turn gangrenous, and fail to take care of sores and infections which eventually erode the bone. Also, rats like to nibble on the injured parts at night. Leprosy used to be a problem in Europe and in the southern parts of the USA, but it tends to dissapear from any culture when most of the people become affluent enough to not have dirt floors in their homes. That's why it still is a problem in countries like India and Africa where dirt floors are stiil the norm for much of the population. Leprosy is very hard to catch. It probably takes years of exposure in childhood and only about 10% of the population is susceptable to it at all. You really are in no danger if a leper touches you. Armadillos can carry it, but I think no other animal can get it. A most interesting book to read for more info on this is Paul Brant's "The Gift of Pain"(formerly titled "Pain, The Gift Nobody Wants") He was a Missionary Dr. who specialized in Leprosy in India for many years. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Leprosy is caused by infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It is thought to transmitted through airborne droplets or by direct contact with infected areas in other people.

Answer 5

"A bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae, that multiplies very slowly and mainly affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes. The organism has never been grown in bacteriologic media or cell culture, but has been grown in mouse foot pads."

Answer 6

Mycobacterium leprae, a bacteria.