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Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It affects the skin and peripheral nerves, and if left untreated it can cause permanent damage. While rare there are still approximately 208,000 people around the world with leprosy. There was a time in history when the disease wasn't understood so people who contracted it were forced into isolation. That is no longer the case and it is now a treatable disease (WHO, 2025).

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The disease is believed to spread through respiratory means and attack the body. The Mycobacterium leprae attacks the peripheral nerve cells preferentially attacking the Schwann cells. This breaks down the conduction in the nerve cells and interrupts axonal communications. This presents as numbness in the patient( Bhandari, et. al., (2025).

People who develop leprosy can exhibit some of these symptoms.

Red or pale skin patches

Numbness or tingling of extremities

Muscle weakness

Painful wounds on the hands and feet

Loss of hair

Nose bleeds

In advanced stages, one can expect

Paralysis

Vision loss

Sores on hands and feet that won't heal

Permanent Damage to the hands and feet

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Leprosy is mostly extinct worldwide, but it is still sometimes found in developing countries. Information on new cases of Leprosy can sometimes be difficult to obtain because they are often not reported.

Here in the US Leprosy is almost nonexistent. 75% of the cases of leprosy found here in the US are found in migrants. The disease is more often found in males than females (WHO, 2025).

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Leprosy is mostly extinct worldwide, but it is still sometimes found in developing countries. Information on new cases of Leprosy can sometimes be difficult to obtain because they are often not reported.

Here in the US Leprosy is almost nonexistent. 75% of the cases of leprosy found here in the US are found in migrants. The disease is more often found in males than females (WHO, 2025).

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The world health organization provides support to countries afflicted by this disease. They also publish all of their findings in a consolidated report written in multiple languages to allow widespread access (WHO, 2025).

The world health organization published a strategy called the Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030 “Towards zero leprosy”. It includes the major stakeholders from 2019-2020 to rid the world of Leprosy by 2030 (WHO, 2021)

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Bhandari, et al. (2025). Leprosy. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559307/

World Health Organization. (2025). Leprosy. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/leprosy

World Health Organization. (2021). Towards zero leprosy. global leprosy (‎hansen’s Disease)‎ strategy 2021–2030. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789290228509