home Analyzes Modern medicine and leprosy. Leprosy or leprosy. What kind of disease is this? Is leprosy curable

Modern medicine and leprosy. Leprosy or leprosy. What kind of disease is this? Is leprosy curable

Leprosy or leprosy (an obsolete name), hansenosis, hanseniasis, is an infectious disease caused by the mycobacteria Mycobacterium lepromatosis and Mycobacterium leprae and occurs with predominant lesions of the skin, peripheral nerves and, sometimes, the upper respiratory tract, anterior chamber of the eye, testicles, feet and brushes.

Leprosy has now become a curable disease because antibiotics can destroy its pathogen. In this article, we will introduce you to the causes, symptoms and modern methods of treating this disease.

There are also references to this disease in the Bible, the manuscripts of Hippocrates and the doctors of ancient India, Egypt and China. Leprosy was called a mournful disease, because in those days it inevitably led to death. In the Middle Ages, quarantine places were opened for such doomed patients - leper colonies. There they said goodbye to life. The relatives of the patient were also avoided by those around him, because they were afraid of contracting leprosy.

According to the decree of the king in France, patients with leprosy were subjected to a "religious tribunal." They were taken to the church, where everything was prepared for burial. After that, the patient was laid in a coffin, buried and taken to the cemetery. After lowering into the grave, saying the words: “You are not alive, you are dead for all of us,” and throwing several shovels of earth on the coffin, the “dead man” was again taken out of the coffin and sent to the leper colony. After such a ceremony, he never returned to his home and did not see any of the family members. Officially, he was considered dead.

Now the prevalence of leprosy has decreased significantly, but the disease is still considered endemic (that is, occurring in a certain area and resuming after some time on its own, and not due to a drift from outside). Usually it is detected among residents and tourists of tropical countries - Brazil, Nepal, India, the states of the Western Pacific and East Africa. In Russia, a case was identified in 2015 in a worker from Tajikistan who was employed at the construction site of a medical center.

Causes

Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium lepromatosis and Mycobacterium leprae. After infection, which occurs from a sick person to a healthy person through discharge from the nose and mouth or with frequent contact, a long time passes before the first signs of the disease appear. The incubation period of leprosy can range from six months to several decades (usually 3-5 years).

After that, the patient begins an equally long prodromal (latent) period, which manifests itself in non-specific symptoms that cannot contribute to the early detection of the disease. This fact, as well as a long incubation period, predisposes to its spread.

Symptoms and types of disease

When infected with leprosy, infection of parts of the body exposed to air cooling - the skin, mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and superficial nerves - is usually observed. In the absence of timely and correct treatment, the disease causes severe infiltration of the skin and destruction of the nerves. In the future, these changes can cause complete deformation of the face, limbs and deformity.

Changes such as the death of fingers on the extremities are not provoked by mycobacteria pathogens, but by secondary bacterial infections that join with injuries caused by loss of sensation in the hands and feet affected by leprosy. Such lesions go unnoticed, the patient does not seek medical help, and the infection leads to necrosis.

Leprosy can take the following forms:

tuberculoid;
lepromatous;
dimorphic (or borderline);
mixed (or undifferentiated).

All forms of leprosy have their own characteristics, but experts also identify a number of common signs of this infectious disease:

(up to subfebrile);
weakness;
skin manifestations (light or dark spots with impaired sensitivity);
the appearance of areas of skin infiltration;
joint pain (especially during movement);
sagging earlobes and the appearance of a fold between the eyebrows;
loss of the outer third of the eyebrows;
damage to the mucous membranes of the nose.

tuberculoid leprosy

This form of leprosy appears as a hypopigmented patch with clear contours. With any physical impact on him, the patient feels hyperesthesia, that is, an increased sensation of the stimulus.

Over time, the spot increases in size, its edges become raised (in the form of rollers), and the center becomes sunken, undergoing atrophic changes. Its color can vary from bluish to stagnant red. A ring-shaped or spiral pattern appears along the edge.

Within such a spot there are no sweat and sebaceous glands, hair follicles and all sensations disappear. Thickened nerves are palpated near the focus. Their changes associated with the disease cause muscle atrophy, which is especially pronounced when the hands are affected. Often, the disease leads to contractures not only of the hands, but also of the feet.

Any trauma and compression in the foci (for example, wearing shoes, socks, clothes) lead to secondary infection and the appearance of neurotrophic ulcers. In some cases, this causes rejection (mutilation) of the phalanges of the fingers.

With damage to the facial nerve, leprosy is accompanied by damage to the eyes. The patient may develop logophthalmos (the impossibility of complete closure of the eyelid). This consequence of the disease leads to the development of keratitis and ulcers on the cornea, which in the future can provoke the onset of blindness.

Lepromatous leprosy

This form of leprosy is more contagious than tuberculoid. It is expressed in the form of extensive and symmetrical lesions of the skin with respect to the median axis of the body. Foci appear as plaques, spots, papules, leprosy (nodes). Their borders are blurred, and the center is convex and dense. The skin between the lesions thickens.

Among the first symptoms of the disease are often observed nosebleeds and shortness of breath. Subsequently, obstruction of the nasal passages, hoarseness and laryngitis may develop. And when the septum of the nose is perforated, the back of the nose (“saddle nose”) is pressed into the patient. When infected with a pathogen of the anterior chamber of the eye, the patient develops iridocyclitis and keratitis.

Most often, such changes in the skin are observed on the face, ears, elbows, wrists, knees and buttocks. In this case, the patient feels weakness and numbness, which is caused by nerve damage. In addition to these characteristic symptoms in lepromatous leprosy, the outer third of the eyebrows falls out. With the progression of the disease, the patient has an overgrowth of the earlobes and a "lion's face" caused by thickening of the skin and is expressed in the distortion of facial expressions and facial features.

The disease is accompanied by painless enlargement of the axillary and inguinal lymph nodes. In the later stages of lepromatous leprosy, there is a decrease in sensation in the legs.

In men, this form of leprosy can lead to development (inflammation of the mammary glands). In addition, compaction and sclerosis of testicular tissues causes the development of infertility.

Dimorphic (or borderline) form

This form of leprosy can combine in its clinical picture signs of tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy.

Mixed (or undifferentiated) form

This form of leprosy is accompanied by severe nerve damage, more often the ulnar, peroneal, and ear nerves suffer from this process. As a result, a loss of pain and tactile sensitivity develops. Violation of the trophism of the limbs leads to a gradual disability and disability of the patient. When the nerves responsible for the innervation of the face are damaged, the patient's diction is disturbed and atrophy and paralysis of the muscles of the face occur.

In children, this form of leprosy can occur in the form. In such cases, red spots with torn edges appear on the body. They do not rise above the surface of the skin and are accompanied by weakness and fever to subfebrile.

Diagnostics

An important stage of diagnosis is a medical examination.

Your doctor may use several techniques to diagnose leprosy. At the same time, an obligatory part of the patient's survey is the establishment of places of stay and contacts over the past few years.

The plan for examining a patient with suspected leprosy includes:

examination and questioning;
scraping of the oral or nasal mucosa;
Minor's test to detect a decrease in sweating in the lesions;
determination of skin sensitivity;
nicotine test to detect skin reaction to nicotine;
lepromine test (introduction of a special drug into the skin of the forearm to identify the form of leprosy).

The most accessible and fastest specific method for diagnosing leprosy is the lepromine test. For its implementation, Lepromin, a drug based on an autoclaved homogenate of skin lesions of patients with lepromatous leprosy, is intradermally injected into the patient in the forearm. After 48 hours, a papule or spot appears on the skin, and after 14-28 days - a tubercle (sometimes with an area of necrosis). The appearance of these signs is a positive result and indicates the tuberculoid form of leprosy, and with a negative result, the lepromatous form or the absence of the disease.

Treatment

Treatment of patients with leprosy is always carried out in a specialized infectious diseases hospital, and after discharge, they must regularly undergo dispensary examinations. Its effectiveness largely depends on the timely initiation of therapy at the earliest stages of the disease, i.e., at the time of determining the fact of a possible infection. However, in practice, patients often seek medical help already at the stages when symptoms begin to progress. This fact can lead to the appearance of complications of the disease and its residual manifestations, such as changes in appearance and disability.

For etiotropic therapy aimed at destroying the pathogen, the patient is prescribed a combination of several effective antimicrobial drugs. Medication regimens may vary slightly in different countries.

The plan of drug etiotropic therapy may include such means:

preparations of the sulfonic group: Dapsone, Diaminodiphenylsulfone, Sulfetron, Sulfatin, etc.;
antibacterial agents: Rifampicin (Rifampin), Ofloxacin, Minocycline, Clofazimine, Clarithromycin, etc.

The World Health Organization recommends combination therapy regimens for all forms of leprosy. For tubercoloid leprosy - Dapsone 1 time per day and Rifampin 1 time per month for six months, and for lepromatous leprosy - Clofazamine and Dapsone 1 time per day and Rifampin 1 time per month for 2 years until skin biopsy tests are negative.

Etiotropic treatment is supplemented by taking Rutin, vitamin C, B vitamins and antihistamines (Suprastin, Loratadin, etc.).

In some cases, to inhibit the growth of mycobacteria and accelerate the regeneration of the skin, the patient is prescribed Chaulmugra oil (from chaulmugra seeds). This remedy should be taken in gelatin capsules, which protect the gastric mucosa from unwanted irritating effects.

Drugs for the etiotropic treatment of leprosy are taken for long periods (from several months to 2 years), and this contributes to their negative effect on the composition of the blood. In patients, the level of erythrocytes and hemoglobin decreases. To eliminate these signs of anemia, the patient needs to organize regular intake of vitamins and rational nutrition to compensate for the lack of iron in the blood. In addition, he must take control blood tests at least once a month.

To exclude the development of complications from the organs of vision, the respiratory, nervous and musculoskeletal systems, consultations of such specialists are recommended.

Leprosy (leprosy) is a contagious dermatological disease of an infectious nature of origin, which destroys the surface layer of the epithelium of all parts of the body, and also disrupts the conduction of the nerve endings of the peripheral nervous system. In the modern world, leprosy practically does not occur and belongs to the category of rare dermatological diseases. Worldwide, there are no more than 11 million people suffering from the chronic form of leprosy. On average, only 5% of the world's population have a physiological tendency to get leprosy. The remaining 95% have innate immunity and will never become patients in a dermatological dispensary. The peak of the spread of leprosy falls on the 14th-16th centuries. Today, leprosy is considered a conquered infectious disease and occurs only in countries with an extremely low standard of living.

What is leprosy (leprosy)?

photo of leprosy disease

Leprosy is an infectious disease of the surface layer of the skin and nerve endings, which occurs as a result of infection of the body with mycobacterium Leprae. In the affected area is the skin and peripheral nervous system. Changes in epithelial cells are irreversible. The patient's skin is covered with multiple erosions, changes color from flesh to darker tones. Due to the destruction of nerve endings, the motor skills of the upper and lower extremities slow down, become lethargic and lead to the fact that a person becomes disabled.

The grasping reflex disappears. For the first time, leprosy as an independent infectious disease was discovered by the Norwegian scientist Gerhard Hanes in 1873. A dermatological ailment most often affects people who lead an asocial lifestyle. Medical statistics show that men get leprosy 2 times more often than the female half of the population. What explains this specificity is not fully known.

Causes of the disease

The occurrence of leprosy is possible only as a result of bacterial infection from a person who is already sick, or is a carrier of an infectious agent of the disease. Despite the fact that the disease affects the skin, the bacterium is transmitted by airborne droplets. It is enough just to talk to a person with leprosy for an infection to occur on the mucous membrane of the nasal canals or oral cavity. After that, the pathogenic microorganism enters the bloodstream and the incubation period begins, which ends with the development of an acute form of leprosy with symptoms characteristic of this disease.

There are the following causative factors that contribute to bacterial infection with leprosy:

living in tropical countries with a high level of atmospheric air humidity, where leprosy infection feels best and is able to maintain its viability for a long period of time in environmental conditions;
low standard of living associated with unsanitary conditions, the lack of elementary conditions for taking water procedures, washing and changing linen;
the use of drinking water contaminated with biological waste in the form of sewage;
irrational nutrition and eating foods containing a small amount of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats of animal origin;
a weak immune system, the reduced functionality of which is due to the presence of concomitant chronic diseases of infectious etiology;
the presence of a blood disease such as AIDS.

Each case of leprosy infection is individual, so it is quite possible that there may be other causes of leprosy in a person who, prior to infection, led a completely healthy lifestyle and did not have any prerequisites for this dermatological disease.

What are the symptoms of leprosy in patients?

The signs of leprosy have their own characteristics and it will not be difficult for an experienced dermatologist to diagnose leprosy even according to the results of the initial examination. The symptoms of leprosy are as follows.

Spot appearance

Leprosy disease in the photo

On a certain part of the body, an irregularly shaped spot appears, which has a clear border, which differs from the general flesh color of the skin by a gray tint. As the disease progresses, this neoplasm grows in diameter and the clinical picture changes.

Loss of hair follicles

In the skin on which the stain has formed, all hair follicles die, and the sweat and sebaceous glands also stop functioning. Epithelial tissues lose their primary performance, which negatively affects the general well-being of the patient. The state of health is especially aggravated in the hot season, when the lack of sweating leads to overheating of the body.

Nerve thickening

Under the skin of the gray spot and the entire circumference, nerve endings are felt, which, under the influence of the pathogenic activity of a pathogenic bacterium, have changed their structure, become thicker and have ceased to conduct neural impulses coming from the centers of the brain. This is the initial stage of the gradual destruction of the peripheral nervous system. Depending on which nerve is affected by the disease, pain may be present during palpation.

Atrophy

Due to the loss of functionality of diseased nerve endings, there is a loss of sensitivity of muscle fibers, partial or complete absence of their full contraction and further atrophy.

Ulceration

The skin in the feet, hands and forearms is covered with large-scale wound formations. Trophic ulcers increase in diameter and grow in depth. They are difficult to treat with medication and it is very difficult to stop the necrosis of epithelial tissues despite the use of potent drugs.

As the dermatological disease develops and the leprosy bacterium population increases in the patient's body, the indicated symptoms increase, and its clinical manifestation only intensifies. Over time, in an infected person, the mutation of the phalanges of the fingers is disturbed, the lower and upper limbs react poorly to the neural impulses of the brain, forcing their muscles to set parts of the body in motion. Next comes the defeat of the facial nerve, which is expressed in the violation of the symmetry of the muscles of the face.

A corneal ulcer opens and complete blindness occurs.

For later and advanced stages of leprosy, additional symptoms of the disease are characteristic of the growth of the earlobes, loss of eyebrow hair, regular nosebleeds, bronchial spasm, and problems with the act of breathing. The penetration of the bacterial pathogen of leprosy into the testicles ends for a man with infertility and inflammatory processes in the organs of the reproductive system. It is also possible multiple lesions of the skin with papules, various dark spots, plaques and other neoplasms that are not characteristic of leprosy.

Types of leprosy

According to the type of its manifestation and the clinical picture of the course of the disease, the following types of leprosy are distinguished.

Uncertain

It is characterized by the appearance of one small or several dark spots on the skin of the body. The neoplasm no longer manifests itself in any way, and the remaining signs of leprosy are practically absent, or develop in a mild form. If the patient has a strong immune system, leprosy spots can go away on their own over the next 2-3 years.

Tuberculoid

The resulting dark spot quickly grows in diameter, its central part sinks above the general level of the skin, the epithelial layer is destroyed and a volumetric trophic ulcer appears in the center of the neoplasm. At the same time, the destruction of the nerve endings located next to the spot occurs. On palpation, you can find that the nerves are several times enlarged, inflamed and there are signs of loss of sensitivity.

Lepromatous

It differs from previous types of leprosy in that spots, papules and plaques cover most of the body and are multiple. On their surface, trophic ulcers are formed, which rapidly grow in diameter and in depth. It is considered one of the most severe types of leprosy and always proceeds in a complicated form. Treatment of lepromatous leprosy lasts more than 2-3 years, taking into account if the patient regularly takes antibacterial drugs prescribed by a doctor.

Diagnosis of a specific type of dermatological disease is carried out according to the results of a visual examination and bacterial seeding of the contents of trophic ulcers, as well as a biochemical analysis of the patient's blood.

What and how to treat leprosy disease?

Previously, the main remedy for leprosy was chaulmug oil, which was used as an external preparation for the treatment of affected areas of the skin. Modern medicine offers patients with leprosy much more effective means to get rid of this dermatological pathology. As the main medicine, sulfonic medicines are used. They are available in the form of ointments, intramuscular and intravenous injections. In the treatment of leprosy, drugs such as:

These are specific drugs with a narrow spectrum of action. Their active components destroy directly infectious causative agents of leprosy. Despite the fact that sulfone preparations are potent antibiotics, full recovery occurs within 2-3 years from the moment of infection. With complicated forms of leprosy, or the beginning of therapy at an advanced stage of the disease, the duration of treatment can be 6-7 years or more. In addition, strains of leprosy bacteria are periodically found that have a natural immunity to sulfonic medicines. Therefore, for the effective treatment of leprosy, it is recommended to use complex therapy.

Leprosy is a severe chronic infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium Mycobacterium leprae hominis. The source of infection is a person with leprosy. Synonyms: leprosy, Hansen's disease, Phoenician anomaly, Saint Lazarus' disease and others.

In the world, about 11,000,000 people suffering from leprosy are registered. From a medical and social point of view, leprosy is a severe disease.

Leprosy has been known since ancient times. It was predominantly ill in the countries of the Middle East. Even then, separate closed-type settlements were built for the sick, where the sick slowly died. There is a well-known case from the New Testament when Jesus healed a whole group of leper patients.

The biased attitude of society towards patients with leprosy, who are subject to complete physical, social isolation, greatly complicates the problem of identifying cases of the disease and combating it. To this should be added the chronic nature of the course of the disease and the lack of confidence that even after prolonged treatment it is possible to achieve complete release of the body from mycobacteria.

WHO drew attention to the problem of leprosy in the first decades of its existence. She was inspired by Raul Follero, who devoted himself to the fight against leprosy. In honor of Follero, WHO registered in 1954, on January 30, the World Day in Support of Patients with Leprosy. This day should draw the attention of the international community to a comprehensive review and thorough familiarization with the problem of leprosy in the world and the possibility of helping such patients.

Etiology, epidemiology of leprosy (leprosy)

Currently, leprosy is common in Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Oceania. Extremely rare - in Europe and North America. The disease can develop at any age, it has no racial restrictions. The concentration of patients with leprosy in economically underdeveloped countries and its connection with overcrowding is noted quite often. Exogenous high-risk factors play an important role in the spread of leprosy.

The method of transmission of the disease is not known for certain, however, long-term observations of patients indicate infection with constant contact of a healthy person with a patient with leprosy. There is no evidence of human transmission of the disease from rodents, fleas, insects and others. An important factor in persistent infection, as well as the inability to trace the source of infection in registered patients, is the fact that asymptomatic contacts can shed mycobacteria from the nasal cavity long before they are diagnosed with leprosy. It is worth noting that mycobacterium leprosy can spread from lepromatous ulcers of treated patients, from mother's milk, from skin appendages. Lepromatous mycobacteria can probably be transmitted by airborne droplets. They are in soil and water.

Symptoms, diagnosis of leprosy (leprosy)

The disease has a long incubation period that can last from six months to several decades, more often - 5-7 years. Runs asymptomatic. A long latent period is also possible, manifested mainly in general malaise, causeless weakness, chilliness, etc.

There are two polar forms (types) of leprosy - lepromatous and tuberculoid, as well asfour stages of the course of the disease: progressive, stationary, regressive and the stage of residual effects. In addition, an intermediate, or dimorphic, leprosy is possible.

tuberculoid leprosy

Tuberculoid leprosy usually begins with a well-defined, hypopigmented patch, within which there is hyperesthesia. In the future, the spot increases, its edges rise, become roller-shaped with an annular or spiral pattern. The central part of the spot undergoes atrophy and sinks. Within this focus, the skin is devoid of sensitivity, there are no sweat glands and hair follicles. Near the spot, thickened nerves innervating the affected areas are usually palpated. Damage to the nerves leads to muscle atrophy; hand muscles are especially affected. Contractures of the hands and feet are not uncommon. Injuries and compression lead to infection of the hands and feet, neurotrophic ulcers form on the soles. In the future, mutilation of the phalanges is possible. When the facial nerve is affected, lagophthalmos and the keratitis caused by it, as well as a corneal ulcer, leading to blindness, occur.

Lepromatous leprosy

Lepromatous leprosy is usually accompanied by extensive and symmetrical skin lesions relative to the midline of the body. Lesions can be represented by spots, plaques, papules, nodes (lepromas). They have vague borders, a dense and convex center. The skin between the elements is thickened. The most commonly affected areas are the face, ears, wrists, elbows, buttocks, and knees. A characteristic feature is the loss of the outer third of the eyebrows. The late stages of the disease are characterized by the so-called. "Lion's face" (distortion of facial features and violation of facial expressions due to thickening of the skin), proliferation of earlobes. The first symptoms of the disease are often nasal congestion, nosebleeds, and difficulty breathing. Possible complete obstruction of the nasal passages, laryngitis, hoarseness. Perforation of the nasal septum and deformity of the cartilages lead to retraction of the back of the nose (saddle nose). The penetration of the pathogen into the anterior chamber of the eye leads to keratitis and iridocyclitis. Inguinal and axillary lymph nodes are enlarged, but not painful. In men, infiltration and sclerosis of the testicular tissue lead to infertility. Gynecomastia often develops. Late stages of the disease are characterized by hypoesthesia of the peripheral extremities. Skin biopsy reveals diffuse granulomatous inflammation.

Immunity in leprosy is cellular in nature, it is maximal in patients with tuberculoid leprosy and minimal in lepromatous form. To assess the immune response and differential diagnosis between the two forms of the disease, a lepromine test is used. The reaction to the suspension of Mycobacterium leprosy administered intradermally is positive in tuberculoid and negative in lepromatous form.

It is possible to diagnose leprosy by the presence of clinical symptoms of the disease. Confirmatory methods of research are bacterioscopic and histological.

Treatment, prevention of leprosy (leprosy)

Long-term course treatment (up to 3-3.5 years) with the appointment of antileprosy drugs of the sulfone group (diaphenylsulfone, solyusulfone, diucifon, etc.). The duration of the course is 6 months, a break in treatment is 1 month. Multibacterial leprosy requires initial administration of rifampicin, dapsone, or clofazimine, followed by transition to sulfonic drugs. Evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment is controlled by bacterioscopic and histological research methods. At present, 4 leper colonies have been preserved in Russia (a place for detection, treatment, isolation, prevention of leprosy): in Astrakhan, the Krasnodar Territory, the Sergiev Posad District of the Moscow Region, and the Stavropol Territory.

The main problem of WHO is the fight against leprosy at the level of primary prevention. Today, the main task should be early diagnosis and effective drug therapy. Secondary prevention measures, i.e. case detection, are also important. This can be achieved through primary health care with the active participation of the entire population of a country where leprosy cases have been reported. In places endemic for leprosy, mass surveys of the population, sanitary and educational work among the population and doctors are carried out. In addition to the epidemiological situation, socio-economic factors are of great importance, which explains the wide spread of the disease among the poorest people in Asia and Africa. In the health systems of these countries, the priority is to expand services for the detection and treatment of patients with leprosy and to ensure that modern treatment is available to all patients. Prevention of leprosy among medical personnel and other persons who, by the nature of their activities, are in contact with patients, consists in strict adherence to sanitary and hygienic rules (frequent washing of hands with soap, mandatory sanitation of microtraumas, etc.). Cases of infection of medical personnel are rare.

How do you imagine a person suffering from such an ailment as leprosy? What kind of disease is this? It is also called leprosy. Few people know about her now. Most likely, this is because the disease is not particularly common in our time. However, everyone should have an idea about it, remember that it will help us to protect ourselves from it.

A bit of history

Since ancient times, leprosy has been known to mankind. "What kind of disease is this?" - guessed the ancient healers. Hippocrates wrote about this disease. However, he confused it with psoriasis. In medieval times, leprosy became the "plague of the century." Leprosariums began to appear everywhere, where they tried to treat the affected people. As a rule, these ancient medical institutions were located near monasteries. Patients with this terrible disease were encouraged to live in them. This gave a good preventive effect, made it possible to restrain the rapid spread of leprosy. In medieval France, there was even such a custom when a patient with leprosy was taken to a church, where they were placed in a coffin and covered with a lid. After that, his relatives went to the cemetery, lowered the coffin into the grave and threw a few lumps of earth on top, as if saying goodbye to the "deceased". Then the patient was taken out and taken to the leper colony, where he was to live the rest of his life. People did not know how to treat this disease. And only in 1873 in Norway G. Hansen discovered the causative agent of leprosy - Mycobacterium leprae. The situation with treatment immediately changed.

How can you get infected

Today, outbreaks of leprosy are observed mainly in tropical hot countries. The good news is that the number of patients continues to fall every year. However, in our time there are people who do not know what leprosy is. The disease, the photo of the sufferers of which can be seen here, is very common, as a rule, during close contact of people with each other, as well as through discharge from the mouth and nose.

Manifestations of the disease

Despite the fact that in our country the number of people suffering from the disease we are considering is small, there is still a risk of catching it. Leprosy is very insidious. What is the disease? How to recognize it? These questions are of interest to many of us. An infected person may initially experience weakness, lethargy, and drowsiness. He then notes that his arms and legs have bumps on his skin. This is the initial stage of leprosy. Then deep damage to the skin and soft tissues occurs, ulcers form.

How to protect yourself

Speaking about such an ailment as leprosy, a photo of the diseased of which is presented here, it is worth mentioning that it has a rather long incubation period - 15-20 years. This means that the causative agent of it is able to stay in your body for many years, and you may not even be aware of it. In order to activate it, certain conditions must be met, for example, severe hypothermia, poor nutrition, poor personal hygiene, secondary infection. Therefore, it is important from childhood to strengthen your immunity and take care of the cleanliness around you. Treatment of the disease is long and requires the recommendations of many specialists. As a rule, antimicrobials are used for this. Haulmoogra oil is a remedy used by ancient healers for several centuries.

In this article, we have told you in an accessible way about such an ailment as leprosy. What kind of disease is leprosy? How to protect yourself from it? Now you know the answer to all these questions.

There are many diseases in the world that appeared in ancient times and still affect humanity. One of them is leprosy, or, as it is more commonly called, leprosy.

What it is?

At the very beginning, you need to understand what leprosy is. The disease has an infectious nature, a chronic nature. The causative agent is Mycobacterium leprae. Basically, the problem affects the human skin, as well as the mucous membranes and the nervous system. It should also be said that the incubation period of the disease is very long. So, you can become infected with a virus, and external manifestations will begin only after 5-20 years. Important: this disease is incurable. However, if therapy is started on time, disability can be avoided.

Spreading

Leprosy is a disease of the poor. Most often, the most disadvantaged segments of the population become infected with it. The poorest countries of the African continent, as well as Brazil, Angola, Nepal, India, etc. are at risk. But the world community is actively fighting the foci of infection today. And since 1995, each person can receive good, high-quality and, most importantly, free treatment for this disease.

A bit of history

Leprosy is a disease that was known even to the inhabitants of ancient civilizations (India, China and Egypt). The first mention of the disease appeared in 600 BC. It is worth saying that at that time, however, as well as much later, such patients were often subjected to ostracism (exile, exile) not only by society, but also by close people. With the advent of Christianity, the picture changed little. People with leprosy were considered punished by the Lord for their sins and were also rejected by society. And only in the middle of the last century, drugs were found that quite effectively help to resist the disease. And since 1995, these drugs in risk areas have been offered to people free of charge. Modern society is most often tolerant of such people.

Causes of the disease

How and why does leprosy (a disease) occur? The reasons are still unknown to doctors. And all because the incubation period of the disease is very long. The first symptoms may appear several years after infection. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that children become infected with leprosy more often and faster than adults. You can get infected through very close contact with a sick person. If the patient is diligently treated, then after a certain time he becomes safe for others. At the same time, the activity of pathogenic organisms is not too high. Only a few can contract leprosy from a sick person: people with weakened or not yet fully developed immunity.

Types of leprosy

Leprosy is of two main types:

Tuberculoid form. Lighter. It develops if the body is able to resist the attack of microbacteria.
border form. Somewhat heavier than the previous form. However, it often develops into a lepromatous form.
Lepromatous leprosy. The most severe form. It develops in case of severe weakening or damage to the patient's immunity.

Symptoms

How does leprosy manifest itself? The symptoms are as follows:

Damage to the skin, tissues that come into contact with air. The mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, nerve endings that are on the face of a person are also affected. Often, leprosy penetrates the skin so deeply that destruction of nerve fibers occurs. This leads to the fact that a person becomes ugly, his normal, primary appearance is distorted.
Leprosy is a disease that does not cause the fingers to die. This is due to re-infection (bacterial infection) and tissue necrosis.
Affected areas of the skin become insensitive to pain, cold, heat.
Numbness of the limbs of the patient. There may also be some loss of sensation in the limbs.
The patient develops severe muscle weakness.

Forms of the disease: symptoms

The course of the disease according to the tuberculoic type differs from lepromatous leprosy. In the first case, flat spots appear on the patient's body, which have a white or reddish tint, and they are often covered with scales. In places of the affected areas of the skin, the sheaths of the nerve fibers become denser, which leads to a decrease in their sensitivity. If the pathogens penetrate the largest trunks, destructive changes in the joints and bones can occur. Most often, this affects the limbs of a person. However, it should be said that with this form of the disease, the symptoms can disappear on their own without a trace and irrevocably. If it is lepromatous leprosy, then so-called nodes or plaques most often begin to form on the face of a person, the skin in these places loses sensitivity, thickens. Large rough folds may form on the skin. The patient's face most often in this case acquires the so-called "lion's muzzle" shape - this is a symptom characteristic of lepromatous leprosy.

Diagnostics

Leprosy (a disease) is a difficult problem to identify. After all, most often it camouflages under other diseases and can manifest itself many years after a person is infected. It also requires a long and thorough diagnosis. What can be used for this:

Bacteriological analysis of a patient's skin scraping.
PCR (polymerase chain reaction method) is a more expensive but effective method for laboratory diagnosis of a disease. Its purpose is to identify pathogens of infectious diseases.
Lepromin test (needed to determine the form of the disease).

Treatment

So, if a person has leprosy (a disease), treatment was carried out differently at each stage of the historical development of civilization.

For centuries, leprosy (or leprosy) has been treated with haulmug oil.
Further, this harm was replaced by sulfonic preparations.
Since 1950, diaphenylsulfone (dapsone) has been used to combat this disease problem. However, its effect could only be seen after a few years. Sometimes the treatment was delayed for 8-10 years. It is worth saying that these drugs are some kind of disease freezers.
In the early 80s of the last century, leprosy began to be treated comprehensively with the help of antibiotics: these are drugs such as Rifampicin, Dapsone, Sparfloxacin.

Complications and prognosis

It is worth saying that leprosy is a chronic disease that cannot be cured. You can only slow down its development. Among the complications are the following:

The defeat of the skin of the patient beyond recognition.
Defeat and extermination of the human nervous system.
The disease can also lead to blindness.

To avoid such a development of events, the disease must be diagnosed as early as possible. You also need to constantly deal with the symptoms of the disease.

Disease of the poor?

In light of recent events, the public has begun to actively talk about the fact that leprosy is not only a disease of the poorest segments of the population. Thus, some experts argue that this disease is slowly affecting the Ukrainian elite. At the very beginning, it was only about the former President Viktor Yushchenko (as they say, symptoms on the face and on the face). Further, scientists began to actively assert that this was Tymoshenko's disease. The leprosy in this case was transmitted during a long contact between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko during the 2004 Maidan. The symptomatology of Yulia Vladimirovna manifested itself during her imprisonment. However, there is no reliable information about whether this is actually so.