Leprosy

Story of leprosy and general information about a disease

Leprosy (leprosy) is the infectious disease affecting integuments and a peripheral nervous system of the person. The disease leprosy is considered one of the most ancient diseases, mentioning of which occur in the Old Testament. In those days patients with leprosy were considered as "dirty". From them healthy people jumped aside, subjected them to persecution and deprived of the right for normal life. The peak of incidence of leprosy is necessary on 12-14 вв when the infection affected the population practically of all European countries.

 Medieval doctors applied numerous leper colonies to fight against leprosy – institutions which were engaged in identification and treatment of leprous. Originally sick were located with leprosy in the territory of monasteries where houses and sites for conducting agricultural activity were allocated to them. Actually, unfortunate people lived in peculiar reservations and had no opportunity to communicate with the rest of the world. However, then isolation of patients with leprosy was quite justified and bore fruit. By the 16th century leprosy left Europe. Isolated cases of a disease some time were registered in the territory of the Mediterranean coast and Scandinavia, but business did not reach large-scale epidemics.

Today we know about leprosy practically everything. Contrary to popular belief, the infection is not transmitted at a simple touch to the patient and not always leads to death. It is known that a disease leprosy threatens only 5-7% of people, and other inhabitants of Earth have permanent immunological protection against the activator. As for a way of transmission of infection. In most cases the long direct skin contact is necessary for infection. Also there is a theory that leprosy which symptoms can be shown also in 10 years after defeat gets into an organism at inhalation of the bacteria allocated from a mouth or a nasal cavity of the sick person. Perhaps, this assumption partly explains the fact that today in the world about 11 million patients with leprosy are registered and many of them had no skin contacts with the infected people.

What causes leprosy?

The disease of leprosy is caused by rhabdoid microorganisms - Mycobacterium leprae. They were opened in 1874 by the scientist G. Hansen. These microorganisms have the properties close to tubercular, but have no ability to breed in mediums and often prove nothing for many years. It is enough to tell that the disease incubation interval quite often makes 15-20 years that is caused by characteristics of leprosy. In itself it is not capable to cause a necrosis of fabrics. It means that activity of microorganisms has to be activated any by external factors, for example, the consecutive bacterial infection, improper feeding contaminated by water or bad living conditions.

Long incubatory and not less long stage of latency is often led to the fact that at the diagnosis treatment of leprosy begins too late as doctors have objective problems with early diagnosis of a disease.

Now specialists know two forms of leprosy:

• lepromatous – the activator influences generally integuments;
• tuberculoid – mostly a disease mentions a peripheral nervous system.

Allocate also a boundary form of leprosy which tends development in any of two main types of a disease.

Leprosy symptoms

The tuberculoid form has the following characteristic symptoms of leprosy:

• emergence of accurately outlined spot which gradually increases in sizes;
• absence hair a follicle and sweat glands on the struck surface of skin;
• near a spot accurately probe reinforced nerves;
• atrophy of muscles;
• formation of neurotrophic ulcers on soles;
• contractures of brushes and feet.

As the disease leprosy progresses, disease symptoms also accrue. Over time patients have a mutilation of phalanxes, a helcoma and other defeats of a facial nerve leading to a blindness.

The lepromatous leprosy proves extensive damages of skin in the form of plaques, papules, spots and nodes. As a rule, similar educations arise on a face, auricles, elbows, wrists and buttocks. Very often leprosy is followed by eyebrow shedding. Distortion of features, growth of lobes of ears, nasal bleedings, the complicated breath is characteristic of late stages of a disease. Also sick have leprosy from laryngitis, okhriplost and a keratitis. Infiltration of activators in fabric of testicles leads to infertility at men.

Treatment of leprosy

Throughout several centuries against a disease of leprosy chaulmoogric oil was used, however, the modern medicine has much more effective remedies, in particular – sulfonic drugs. They do not treat specific remedies, but can stop development of an infection and make fortifying impact on an organism.

At easy forms of a disease treatment comes within 2-3 years. The heavy course of leprosy increases this term up to 7-8 years. Let's add also that recently strains of the bacteria of a contribution steady against dapsone (the main drug which is used in modern medicine) therefore in recent years sulphaminic means are applied in combination with other drugs were found. For example, at lepromatous type of an infection it is widely used клофамизин.

Certainly, researchers are not going to be satisfied with what has already been achieved and look for more efficient ways of fight against leprosy which will reduce terms of treatment and will reduce sharpness of symptoms at heavy patients.