Definition:
Leprosy is a chronic contagious skin disease that attack the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the respiratory tract. It also develops skin lesions in various parts of the body. When left untreated, the disease may cause irreverisible damages to the eyes, nerves and skin.
Treatment:
There was no treatment for leprosy until the 1940s, when the drugs rifampin, clofazimine and dapsone were developed. They were first prescribed in individual dosages, but due to the quick antibiotic resistance evolution of M. leprae, the drugs had to be combined in multi-drug therapy (MDT) in order to work effectively.
Symptoms and Signs:
Persons affected by the disease suffer from large patches of lesions that soon affect the whole limb where they have developed. Among the other symptoms of leprosy include nodules, thickened dermis and nose bleeding. Patients also lose their sensitivity to the pain brought about by the lesions.
Causes:
Leprosy is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It is an acid-fast, gram-positive strain, surrounded by a waxy cell membrane coating.
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