Leprosy: Characteristics, clinical symptoms, preventive treatment

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Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. The disease mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the respiratory tract and eyes.

1. What is leprosy? Features of leprosy

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium Leprae. To date, the exact transmission mechanism of leprosy has not been clearly defined. However, in recent times, statistics show that the disease can be transmitted through contact between sick and healthy people, especially the trend of respiratory leprosy transmission is increasing sharply.
In addition, the disease can also be transmitted through insects – vectors. Leprosy most commonly affects the nerves of the extremities, skin, nasal mucosa, and upper respiratory tract, causing skin ulcers, nerve damage, and muscle weakness. If not detected and treated in time, the disease can cause body disfigurement and even permanent disability. In addition, a number of other complications can also occur if this disease is not intervened:
Hair loss and hair loss, especially eyebrows, eyelashes... Chronic nasal congestion, nosebleeds and collapse nasal septum. Iritis . Increased risk of glaucoma - one of the eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, causing blindness. CKD . Reduced physiological capacity... According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leprosy occurs especially in countries with tropical or subtropical climates.

2. Signs and symptoms of leprosy

When suffering from leprosy, the patient often presents with clear and easy-to-observe clinical symptoms. A sick person may show one to many of the following signs:
Skin lesions, loss of sensation. The skin appears streaks of color. Muscle weakness and numbness in the arms, feet, hands, and legs. Skin lesions may appear singly or multiple, sometimes red or pink. Typical skin lesions caused by leprosy are usually visible as spots (flat, discolored skin), raised red spots or nodules.
Loss of sensation in the skin accompanied by muscle weakness is the result of nerve damage.

3. Classification of leprosy

After learning what leprosy is and using clinical research on the Ridley-Jopling system, leprosy has 5 levels of classification based on the severity of symptoms, including:
In addition, the World Health Organization WHO has a different classification of leprosy. Accordingly, the disease will be divided into 2 main groups:
Low bacteria group: patients whose test results are negative and only have a maximum of 5 lesions on the skin. Group with many bacteria: patients with at least 6 skin lesions or more, the index of pathogenic bacteria is positive.

4. How is leprosy diagnosed?

Usually, leprosy can be diagnosed based on clinical signs of the disease. In addition, the doctor will perform some biopsies such as taking a piece of skin/nerve from the patient and sending it in for testing.
Skin tests to diagnose leprosy will also be done to determine the type of disease by injecting a small amount of the causative (but inactivated) bacteria into the skin, typically in the upper forearm. People with grade 1 or grade 2 leprosy will test positive at the injection site.

5. Methods of treatment of leprosy

WHO developed a “multi-therapy” approach in 1995 to treat all types of leprosy worldwide. In addition, certain antibiotics will be used to treat leprosy by killing the bacteria that cause the disease. These antibiotics include:
Dapsone (or Aczone). Rifampin (or Rifadin). Clofazimine (or Lampren). Minocycline (or Minocin). Ofloxacin (or Ocuflox). In addition to antibiotics, doctors will prescribe an anti-inflammatory drug such as aspirin, prednisone, or thalidomide... The treatment can last for many months, even up to 1-2 years in the case of the disease. heavy.

6. How to prevent leprosy?

To date, leprosy has no definite method of prevention or vaccine. Therefore, to prevent disease, you need to:
Clean the surrounding environment, wash your hands often. Eat healthy and give the body a full range of essential nutrients, supplement beneficial bacteria, vitamin C, zinc ... to improve resistance. When there are signs of leprosy, it is necessary to immediately seek medical attention to receive timely treatment. It can be said that, with the development of modern medicine, leprosy is no longer a very dangerous disease, which can be treated definitively by many methods. However, people still need to maintain the spirit of disease prevention to avoid the spread to the community or the aggressive progression of the disease, causing unfortunate consequences.
Besides, periodic health check is also a way to prevent disease. Periodic health check-ups help detect diseases early, thereby planning treatment for optimal results. Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has general health checkup packages suitable for each age, gender and individual needs of customers with a reasonable price policy, including:
Health checkup package diamond general health check-up package Vip special health check-up package Comprehensive general health check-up package Standard general health check-up package Patient's examination results will be returned to your home. After receiving the results of the general health examination, if you detect diseases that require intensive examination and treatment, you can use services from other specialties at the Hospital with quality treatment and services. outstanding customer service.

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Article references source: who.int, healthline.com