Just the word “leprosy” tends to conjure images of leper colonies filled with people dressed in long robes to hide skin lesions. While once leprosy was little less than a death sentence, thanks to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) efforts over the last three decades to eradicate the disease, there is in fact a cure for leprosy.
The most effective method of treatment, at present, seems to be multi-drug therapy (MDT), which utilizes a combination of antibiotics at the same time as a means of annihilating the bacteria that causes leprosy. Mycobacterium leprae, the responsible bacteria, can do a lot of serious damaging before it is cured if treatment does not begin early in the course of the disease. This can be especially tricky because leprosy has an extremely long incubation period -- it most commonly presents signs within two to ten years, but can take even longer than that.
Hansen’s disease, named for the doctor who first saw Mycobacterium leprae, causes serious damages to the nerves, skin, and mucous membranes; even if the disease is cured, these complications can’t necessarily be reversed. The skin lesions can cause serious disfigurement, and the resulting nerve damage may be lead to muscle weakness and a loss of sensation bordering on near paralysis. If you suspect you have leprosy, talk to your doctor about getting in contact with one of the National Hansen’s Disease Program’s 11 government-funded treatment programs for leprosy.
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