What is Leprosy?

What is Leprosy?

• Leprosy: A chronic, progressive infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae which causes skin sores and also affects the eyes, mucous membranes and peripheral nerves.
• Leprosy: chronic granulomatous infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae; granulomatous lesions are manifested in the skin, the mucous membranes, and the peripheral nerves; two polar or principal types are lepromatous and tuberculoid.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Leprosy: chronic granulomatous communicable disease occurring in tropical and subtropical regions; characterized by inflamed nodules beneath the skin and wasting of body parts; caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Leprosy is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Leprosy, or a subtype of Leprosy, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Leprosy as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Leprosy: Introduction

Types of Leprosy:

Types of Leprosy:

• Paucibacillary Hansen's disease
• Multibacillary Hansen's disease
• more types...»

Broader types of Leprosy:

• Bacterial diseases
• Diseases contagious from droplets
• Mucous membrane conditions
• Conditions involving a pathogen
• Nervous system conditions
• Skin conditions
• more types...»

How many people get Leprosy?

Incidence (annual) of Leprosy: 108 annual cases notified in USA 1999 (MMWR 1999)
Incidence Rate of Leprosy: approx 1 in 2,518,518 or 0.00% or 108 people in USA [about data]
Worldwide prevalence: more than 12 million
Prevalance of Leprosy: In 1999, the world incidence of Hansen’s disease was estimated to be 640,000; and in 2000, 738,284 cases were identified. In 2000, 91 cases occurred in the United States. In 2000, WHO listed 91 countries as endemic for leprosy, with India, Myanmar, and Nepal having 70% of cases. (Source: excerpt from Hansen's Disease (Leprosy): DBMD)

How serious is Leprosy?

Complications of Leprosy: see complications of Leprosy

What causes Leprosy?

Causes of Leprosy: see causes of Leprosy
Causes of Leprosy: A bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae, that multiplies very slowly and mainly affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes. The organism has never been grown in bacteriologic media or cell culture, but has been grown in mouse foot pads. (Source: excerpt from Hansen's Disease (Leprosy): DBMD)
Risk factors for Leprosy: see risk factors for Leprosy

What are the symptoms of Leprosy?

Symptoms of Leprosy: see symptoms of Leprosy

Complications of Leprosy: see complications of Leprosy

Incubation period for Leprosy: many years, from 1 to 40 years.

Can anyone else get Leprosy?

More information: see contagiousness of Leprosy
Inheritance: see inheritance of Leprosy

Leprosy: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Leprosy.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Leprosy.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Leprosy: see treatments for Leprosy
Research for Leprosy: see research for Leprosy

Society issues for Leprosy

Hospitalization statistics for Leprosy: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Leprosy:

• 0.0001% (12) of hospital consultant episodes were for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 100% of hospital consultant episodes for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 50% of hospital consultant episodes for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 50% of hospital consultant episodes for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 67% of hospital consultant episodes for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 29.4 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• more statistics...»

Name and Aliases of Leprosy

Main name of condition: Leprosy

Class of Condition for Leprosy: bacterial

Hansen disease, Hansen's Disease (Leprosy), Hansen's Disease, elephantiasis graecorum, Lepra

Hanseniasis, Mycobacterium leprae Source - Diseases Database

Hansen's disease
Source - WordNet 2.1

Hansen's disease
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Leprosy: Related Conditions

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Leprosy:

• Hansen disease
• Indeterminate leprosy
• IL
• Tuberculoid leprosy
• TT
• Borderline tuberculoid leprosy
• Borderline borderline leprosy
• Borderline lepromatous leprosy
• Lepromatous leprosy
• LL
• Lepra reaction
• Reversal reaction
• Erythema nodosum leprosum
• Lucio phenomenon

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