LEPROSY

LEPROSY

Leprosy (also called Hansen’s disease) is a chronic infectious disease that mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. In short, a disease that affects the skin and nerves and can make parts of the body lose feeling, but it can be cured with proper treatment.

What can cause it? Mycobacterium leprae (acid-fast bacillus) is one to blame for this disease and it grows very slowly. Slowly that you don't know it until the things I'll talk about below.

How does this happen? "Prolonged close contact" with an untreated patient. See, emphasis on prolonged close contact. Don't live in fear. Spread mainly via respiratory droplets (nose and mouth) It is not highly contagious. Hence, don't live in fear.

Incubation Period Long: 2–20 years (average ~5 years). This is the time between infection and appearance of symptoms. That's why we need to take personal hygiene seriously.

Let's get to the part you will see or notice. One you might easily relate to.

Clinical features; Skin; Hypopigmented or reddish patches Loss of sensation (pain, touch, temperature) Nodules, plaques, thickened skin.

Nerve; Thickened peripheral nerves (ulnar, common peroneal, posterior tibial) Numbness, weakness, deformities (claw hand, foot drop). “Hand go bend like claw. Person no go fit straighten hand well or hold something properly.” “Leg go weak. When person dey waka, as the foot no dey rise well, e fit dey drag for ground.”

Others; Hair loss (eyebrows/eyelashes) Nasal stuffiness or collapse (advanced cases) Eye involvement (blindness if untreated).

Another interesting part is;

Treatment (WHO Multidrug Therapy – MDT); Paucibacillary: Rifampicin + Dapsone (6 months) Multibacillary: Rifampicin + Dapsone + Clofazimine (12 months)

Before you ask what those "bacillary" are, they are classifications. “Paucibacillary na mild leprosy wey skin mark no pass five, while Multibacillary na serious leprosy wey skin mark pass five and germ plenty for body.”

Treatment is free in many countries and curative. Nigeria is one of them.

What happens if you don't treat? Nerve damage Deformities Secondary infections (other infections will see opportunity to arise) Disability and stigma

How to prevent? Early detection and treatment Screening close contacts BCG vaccine offers partial protection