A Curable Leprosy

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A curable disease and very contagious

Leprosy is a chronic disease of bacterial origin caused by a bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae and discovered in 1873 by Norwegian scientist Hansen. Can occur in both adults and children and both sexes equally, and although the incubation period is between 3-5 years, the symptoms may be delayed up to 20 years. Moreover, there is no vaccine or diagnostic test to detect it.

Contrary to popular belief, leprosy is curable and very contagious. It is transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth. In addition to its contagion must be in close contact with the patient, together with hygiene and poor nutrition. Leprosy is also a notifiable disease.

This infection primarily affects the skin and nerves. Early symptoms include mottling with dry skin anywhere, who have no feeling or itching or pain and tenderness loss and heat. If left untreated, can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes, causing paralysis and disability.

These signs are those that have traditionally marked those affected by leprosy, ostracized, even though it is curable through the multitherapy (MDT), discovered in 1981. This consists of a combination of three drugs: dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. The application of the three substances kills the pathogen and cures the patient in a period ranging between 6 and 12 months and no longer contagious after the first dose.

Physical and psychological

WHO estimates that the efforts for early detection and prompt treatment of MDT has prevented about 4 million people from being disabled. However, the fact is that leprosy is one of the four leading causes of disability worldwide. Because, although it can be cured, the damage caused by the disease, paralysis and disabilities are not reversible. So it is so important to detect the disease in its early stages.

Basically, the experts stressed that medical advise should be directed towards the following measures: rapid detection and treatment of peripheral nerve involvement, regular monitoring of neurologic function in the cases diagnosed, and health education for patients and family know how they develop and how disability can be prevented using simple measures of daily self-care for your hands, feet and eyes, so they can carry out activities of daily living safely.

Regarding the psychological scars caused by this disease, experts say lead to permanent disabilities affected people suffer mental and social consequences as difficult to face and overcome as the physical. Social rejection, unemployment and physical and economic dependence are just some of them since those affected enter a cycle of exclusion and poverty that separates them in any way of living.

Trying to break the cycle of exclusion and integrating the patient into society and providing access to jobs that allow them to get some income, access to housing, education for children and the recovery of self-esteem, are only some of the resources that can be offered within the broad field of socio-economic rehabilitation of patients disabled by leprosy.

So to combat this stigma is needed: changing the image of leprosy through information campaigns and education, creating an environment in which patients do not have to hide, train personnel, health workers and community volunteers to detect and treat leprosy and allocate human and financial resources. This requires the cooperation of international organizations and the commitment of all parties involved.

Is it possible to eradicate it?

According to the World Health Organization, leprosy will be eliminated when detected all patients and cure them in time. The elimination of reducing the number of cases to a minimum (1 case per 10,000 population), this will reduce the source of infection, so that leprosy will disappear naturally, as happened in the past many countries.

However, despite that achieves achieve this challenging objective of WHO, will be a long way to go before the disease can be considered completely eradicated. The fact is that locally, many areas of countries like India and Brazil will take much longer to reach the elimination from the association include Fontilles.

Also, setting the elimination as a policy objective in many countries is assuming that the real figures are hidden and many patients being left unattended. Furthermore, when reaching the disposal will leave the control and monitoring programs with the disease reappears. It is therefore necessary to increase research efforts remains unknown because many aspects of this disease.

Work should focus on prevention of disabilities and socio-economic rehabilitation of those affected also proceeding with plans for early detection, treatment and disease control, since at any time could re-emerge, such as they are currently doing other diseases that until now were considered eradicated.

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