LEPROSY
Leprosy or Hansen's Disease is chronic, infectious disease of human beings that
primarily affects the skin, mucous membranes and nerves. The disease is caused
by a rod-shaped bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae, which
is similar to the bacillus that causes tuberculosis. The leprosy bacillus was
identified 
in 1874 by the Norwegian physician Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen.
In both the Old and New Testaments
the name leprosy is given to a number of physical conditions unrelated to true
leprosy. These conditions were considered a punishment from God. The victim was
said to be in a state of tsara'ath or defilement.
This Hebrew term was later translated as lepros from
which came the word leprosy.
The disease spread from its probable
area of origin in the 
Scientists have not been successful
in producing typical leprosy in experimental animals. The organism can be grown
in armadillos, however and several laboratories have reported cultivating
leprosy in the test tube.
The earliest symptom is often loss
of sensation in a patch of skin. In the lepromatous
form large areas of the skin may become infiltrated. The mucous membranes of
the nose, mouth and throat 
may be invaded by large numbers of
the organism. Because of damage to the nerves, muscles may become paralyzed.
The loss of sensation that accompanies the destruction of nerves may result in
unnoticed injuries. These may result in secondary infections, the replacement
of healthy tissue with scar tissue and the destruction or absorption of bone.
The classic disfigurements of leprosy, such as loss of extremities from bone
damage or the so-called leonine facies, a lion-like
appearance with thick nodulous skin, are signs of
advanced disease, now preventable with early treatment.
Therapy
The use of chaulmoogra oil was for
many years the 
established treatment for leprosy.
Present-day therapy includes the use of drugs such as dapsone,
rifampin, and clofazimine,
and provision of adequate nutrition.
If too many bacilli are killed too
quickly, a systemic reaction may occur. This reaction, called erythema nodosum leprosum, or ENL, may cause progressive impairment of the
nerves. Corticosteroids control such reactions.
Leprosy is perhaps the least
infectious of all the contagious diseases. At present, newly diagnosed patients
are seldom isolated. A leprosy vaccine is currently under development.
Father Damien - Joseph Damien de
Veuster 1840 – 1889
Father Damien was Belgian Roman
Catholic missionary to the lepers of
