Rebecca Nunez 432 Discussion #4 Leprosy by Rebecca Nunez

Leprosy

rtorheim — 2025-03-10 16:24:45 UTC

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).

Pathophysiology

rtorheim — 2025-03-10 16:24:58 UTC

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

Epidemiology

rtorheim — 2025-03-10 16:25:15 UTC

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).

Interventions

rtorheim — 2025-03-10 16:25:23 UTC

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).

Partnerships

rtorheim — 2025-03-10 16:25:35 UTC

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)

Recourses

rtorheim — 2025-03-11 01:48:44 UTC

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