Leprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is treatable with medication and not as contagious as believed. The World Health Organization is working to eliminate the disease, which is still prevalent in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The social stigma associated with leprosy remains a challenge.
Leprosy is a disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy is also often referred to as Hansen’s disease, after the discoverer of the bacterium. While in ancient history, the term leprosy was used to refer to a wide range of diseases causing boils, sores, or other skin conditions, in modern usage it refers exclusively to Hansen’s disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. While the exact mode of transmission of leprosy is unknown, most people believe that the bacterium is passed on through moisture exuded from the body.
There are two prevalent myths about leprosy, both of which are totally false. The first is that leprosy is incurable. In truth, leprosy is treatable using a regimen of medications. The first real leprosy treatments, using a drug called dapsone, were established in the 1940s. The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing this multidrug therapy (MDT) to any country in need as part of their ongoing efforts to eliminate leprosy as a global health problem.
The second myth is that leprosy is extremely contagious. In fact, most people are naturally immune to the disease and for those who aren’t, transmission is still unlikely. It is estimated that more than 90% of the world’s population has total immunity to leprosy. For those who are susceptible, close contact with infected people is advised against, especially those showing strong signs of the disease. By no means, however, is transmission as easy as most people believe: in the popular mindset, mere contact with a leper virtually guarantees you’ll be infected, a highly unlikely, if not outright impossible scenario.
Since the World Health Organization made a determined effort to eliminate the threat of leprosy worldwide, the incidence of the disease has been drastically reduced. Between 2003 and 2004 there was a reduction of more than 20% in new cases, to just over 400,000 worldwide. Of the remaining leprosy cases, the majority are found in Africa, Latin America and Asia, with nearly 90% of all leprosy cases found in Nepal, Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania. India has proven to be a strong model for what education and drug delivery can do to eliminate leprosy, with the number of cases in that country declining dramatically in just a few years.
One of the most difficult challenges for groups like the World Health Organization to overcome in their fight against leprosy is the deeply ingrained social stigma associated with the disease. In many cultures, leprosy is viewed as a divine punishment, and those afflicted with it are often ostracized by society as a whole. Leper hospitals and asylums have existed in many countries for many hundreds of years as places where a group could ship their lepers and leave them to die of the disease in exile. While leper colonies exist primarily in developing nations such as the Philippines and India, the Japanese government has come under intense criticism for its own colonies in recent years.
In general, the global outlook on leprosy appears to be very supportive, with the World Health Organization’s “Final Push” program gaining significant inroads, even in countries once thought to be virtually out of care. If things continue like this, leprosy could go the way of smallpox and polio, becoming nothing more than a historical artifact.
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