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Leprosy is a bacterial infection that affects the nerves, skin, and mucous membranes of a person. The infection causes numbness or total loss of sensation and can result in deformaties or even loss of limbs.
The bacterium Mycobacterium leprae is an obligate intracellular parasite, which means it can only grow inside other cells.has a unique waxy coating that helps to protect it while it is growing inside human skin and nerve cells.
It grows best at temperatures slightly below body temperature (37 degrees Celsius). The leprosy bacterium is the only bacterium known to destroy peripheral nerve tissue (nerves that are not a part of the central nervous system) and will also destroy skin and mucous membranes.
The symptoms that a person gets depend heavily on that person’s ability to mount a cellular immune response against the bacteria.
One of the earliest syptoms is a slightly bleached flat wound. These wounds can be surrounded by lumps and all sensation is completely lost. Since they feel nothing, patients may accidently cut or burn themself and cause further damage.
Severe leprosy erodes bones; thus, fingers and toes become needlelike, pits form in the skull, nasal bones are destroyed, and teeth fall out. Also, the limbs become twisted and the hands become clawed. These bacteria cause the formation of tumorlike growths called lepromas which give off a deformed look.
Leprosy is believed to be transmitted from one person to another in infected respiratory droplets. Yet, this is only one way scientists believe, they also suspect that factors that may influence how leprosy is transmitted include: environmental conditions, the degree of susceptibility of the person, and the extent of exposure.
Leprosy is treated using atibiotics. The most common antibiotics are rapsone, rifampin, and clofazimine. Treatment may take up to 6 months to 2 years to the lifetime of a patient.
If you would like to prevent yourself from getting Leprosy then the best way is to avoid contact with anyone that has been diagnosed with the disease. If you have been exposed then you should start to recieve antibiotics imediately.
LEPROSY
