|
15 fascinating facts about leprosy
|
|
 |
 |
 |
The first sign of leprosy is loss of feeling in a patch on the skin |
- Leprosy is a medical condition, also known as Hansen's Disease, which still affects millions of people
- It is caused by a bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae (a distant relative of the TB bacillus) and is probably spread by airborne droplet infection.
- The first outward sign of leprosy is loss of feeling in a patch on the skin
- It is curable with Multidrug Therapy (MDT)
- Leprosy is capable of causing disability and even blindness if untreated by attacking nerves under the skin, leading to loss of feeling, paralysis and unfelt injury of the hands, feet and face
- It is difficult to catch and cannot be caught by a handshake.
- Over 95% of people are immune and after only a couple of days on treatment, sufferers are no longer infectious
- Leprosy is still prevalent in many parts of the world and over 269,000 new cases are detected each year - that's over 730 every day!
- It is still surrounded by myths, stigma and fear which mean that it is more than a medical condition without an effective preventative vaccine - which is why early detection and treatment with MDT are so vital
- Leprosy is a public health problem in 24 countries. India, Brazil, Indonesia and Myanmar have the highest numbers of case
- Over 90% of people affected by leprosy live in developing countries where resources are scarce.
- Here leprosy risks becoming a forgotten problem amongst higher profile social problems
- More than 10 million people have been cured with MDT since the early 1980s, but about 2.5 million people urgently need MDT, the medical cure for leprosy
- Between 4 and 5 million people already suffer from, or are threatened with, permanent disability due to leprosy.
- Some studies indicate that the life expectancy of severely disabled persons is reduced by 50%, mainly due to economic hardship.
|
|
|
|
|
Eddie Askew books
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
