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MEDICINE - LEPROSY |
| DOSSIER FIDES NEWS SERVICE |
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Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by the noncultivable,
slow-growing, acid-fast bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It is thought
to be transmitted from human to human by nasal droplets, as distinct
from the transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Leprosy lesions
have been reported to develop at the site of skin abrasions. Naturally
occurring M. leprae infection has been reported in wild animals, including
the nine-banded armadillo in the New World, and several species of
monkeys in Africa. In humans, M. leprae primarily infects macrophages,
endothelial cells and Schwann cells. The unique tropism of M. leprae
for peripheral nerves leads to the classical deformities that have
been described over the ages.
The key point in the pathology of leprosy is the damage which the
micro-bacteria causes to the main peripheries nervous. Inflammatory
reaction known as "lepro-reaction" damages the (neuritis)
of eyes, face, hands and feet. The ensuing destruction of motor, sensitive
and autonomous, nerve fibres causes paralysis, insensibility and dryness
in body parts innervated by the respective nerves. Various types of
trauma suffered by the paralysed and insensitive parts causes, as
months and years pass, the permanent and progressive deformity mentioned
above.
In most cases leprosy can be diagnosed on the basis of a clinical
examination of the patient and a simple laboratory test. The doctor,
or, in many developing countries the nurse, look for the so-called
cardinal signs of leprosy, which confirm the diagnosis. These signs
are hyper-pigmented skin damage with lack of sensitivity, swollen
peripheral nerves and a positive bacillus’s for Mycobacterium
leprae. |
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