Leprosy meaning

Indeterminate leprosy (IL), Tuberculoid leprosy (TT), Borderline tuberculoid leprosy (BT), Borderline borderline leprosy (BB), Borderline lepromatous leprosy (BL), Lepromatous leprosy (LL), Lucio leprosy (diffuse lepromatous leprosy), Histoid leprosy, Verrucous lepromatous leprosy, Pure neural leprosy (PNL) Author: Vanessa Ngan, Staff Writer, 2003. DermNet NZ Editor in Chief: Adjunct A/Prof Amanda Oakley, Dermatologist, Hamilton, New Zealand. Updated: Dr Sachin Manohar Shetty, Consultant Dermatologist, Puttur Skin Clinic, Puttur, Karnataka State, India, 2018. Revised September 2020. Copy edited by Gus Mitchell. September 2020. DermNet NZ revision January 2021. What is leprosy? Leprosy, also called Hansen disease, is a chronic bacterial infection primarily affecting the skin and peripheral nerves usually caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The form the disease takes depends on the person’s immune response to the infection. Who gets leprosy? Leprosy can affect people of all races anywhere in the world. However, it is most common in warm, wet areas of the tropics and subtropics. In 2017, over 200,000 new cases of leprosy were registered world-wide. Worldwide prevalence is reported to be around 5.5 million, with 80% of these cases found in 5 countries: India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brazil, and Nigeria. In New Zealand, there were 38 reported cases in the decade 2004-2013 with the majority of cases having lived in the Western Pacific region or Southeast Asia: most cases came from Samoa...

What is Leprosy? Leprosy is a chronic, progressive bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It primarily affects the nerves of the extremities, the skin, the lining of the nose, and the upper respiratory tract. Leprosy is also known as Hansen’s disease. Hansen’s disease produces skin ulcers, nerve damage, and muscle weakness. If it isn’t treated, it can cause severe disfigurement and significant disability. Hansen’s disease is one of the oldest diseases in recorded history. The first known written reference to Hansen’s disease is from around Hansen’s disease is common in many countries, especially those with tropical or subtropical climates. It’s not very common in the United States. The The Mycobacterium leprae causes Hansen’s disease. It’s thought that Hansen’s disease spreads through contact with the mucosal secretions of a person with the infection. This usually occurs when a person with Hansen’s disease sneezes or coughs. The disease isn’t highly contagious. However, close, repeated contact with an untreated person for a longer period of time can lead to contracting Hansen’s disease. The bacterium responsible for Hansen’s disease multiplies very slowly. The disease has an average incubation period (the time between infection and the appearance of the first symptoms) of Symptoms may not appear for as long as 20 years. According to the There are three systems for classifying Hansen’s disease. 1. Tuberculoid Hansen’s disease vs. lepromatous Hanse...

History of Leprosy Because of ancient references going back to at least 1350 BCE in Egypt, leprosy is sometimes referred to as the “oldest recorded disease” or the “oldest known disease.” In one form or another, leprosy appears to have stalked human beings for millennia, always causing those who suffer from it to be ostracized from their communities and encouraging the belief that sufferers are being punished by the gods. Leprosy in the Old Testament In the Old Testament of the Bible, leprosy is frequently referred to as an ailment afflicting not just humans, but also houses and fabric. References to leprosy obviously aren’t to what is known as leprosy today, but a variety of skin disorders as well as some type of mold or mildew which might affect objects. Key to understanding leprosy in the Leprosy as a Medical Condition Few animals other than humans can catch leprosy and the means of transmission is unknown. The mycobacterium which causes leprosy replicates very slowly because of its very specific needs. This leads to a slowly developing disease but also prevents researchers from creating cultures in the lab. The body’s attempt to fight the infection leads to extensive tissue destruction and thus mutilation which gives the appearance of rot. Cline, Austin. "What Does the Bible Say About Leprosy and Lepers?" Learn Religions, Aug. 27, 2020, learnreligions.com/what-is-leprosy-248632. Cline, Austin. (2020, August 27). What Does the Bible Say About Leprosy and Lepers? Retriev...

Recent Examples on the Web And her hair tortured into a leprous perm. — New York Times, 17 Mar. 2023 Huge marabou storks—known as the undertaker bird on account of their haunted movements, leprous pink skin, and dark wings that hang like cloaks—slipped and flapped through the grasses around us, contributing to the funeral mood of our meal. — Torrey Peters, Bon Appétit, 4 Jan. 2022 The largest iteration of Audrey II squats upon the stage like a mammoth, leprous frog — a spectacle that is practically worth the price of admission all by itself. — Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2019 And not be seen as leprous, or as condemned, or as diseased. — Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 13 June 2019 These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leprous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

Recent Examples on the Web The backdrop to the story is India’s struggle for independence, and the supporting cast includes native and Western physicians, surgeons, estate owners, a leper colony, and an elephant. — Denise Davidson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2023 Metastatic bone cancer has been discovered in Egyptian tombs, in a Portuguese necropolis, in a prehistoric grave in the Tennessee River Valley and in a leper skeleton from a medieval cemetery in England. — George Johnson, Discover Magazine, 30 July 2013 The actual purpose of a quarantine has always been, not to sequester diseased individuals indefinitely—as in the case of leper colonies and tuberculosis sanatoriums—but to detain persons whose exposure to a communicable disease was uncertain to evaluate their health. — A. Roger Ekirch, WSJ, 16 July 2021 Jesus never charged a leper a co-pay! — David Marchesephoto Illustration By Bráulio Amado, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2020 The son of God walks on water; Jesus heals a leper and banishes moneylenders from the temple; Lazarus rises from the dead; camels, goats, sheep and horses stride up and down the carpeted aisles. — Peter Marks, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2022 After only four doses over three days, Sheskin’s patient saw his lesions almost completely heal, all the more miraculous since the primary treatment for leprosy back then was simply to shunt sufferers into lives of isolation in leper colonies. — Christian Millman, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2019 The film fol...

: a chronic infectious disease caused by a mycobacterium ( Mycobacterium leprae) affecting especially the skin and peripheral nerves and characterized by the formation of nodules or macules that enlarge and spread accompanied by loss of sensation with eventual paralysis, wasting of muscle, and production of deformities called also Hansen's disease Recent Examples on the Web In Charly Evon Simpson’s neoabsurdist comedy sandblasted, the playwright imagines that an unexplained leprosy has started to strike young Black women. — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2022 Mycobacterium leprae, which causes leprosy, damages peripheral nerves, reducing sensation. — Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2018 Nearly a million people die each year from complications of hepatitis B infection, and leprosy still infects more than 200,000 people annually. — Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2018 While many translate metzora as leprosy, in truth there is no exact English equivalent. — Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2023 Anura Rambukkana was a Ph.D. student in Amsterdam, analyzing biopsies from migrants with Hansen’s disease, or leprosy. — Eric Boodman, STAT, 17 Nov. 2022 His nose and hands bear leprosy’s signature. — New York Times, 25 Jan. 2022 Most individuals in Rio infected with sporotrichosis suffered from other infections, including human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), tuberculosis, leprosy, and human T-lymphotropic virus infection (7). — Rebecca Kreston, Discover ...