Leprosy
By Zach Morden
Symptoms and types of Leprosy
Leprosy may be scary, but not to worry 95% of people are naturally immune to leprosy. How ever it can be very fatal if not treated and if you already have another disease in your body which can cause the disease to become very fatal and could eventually kill you. Leprosy can however also cause discoloring on the body and splotches. There are three types of leprosy; the first and most common is Paucinacillary leprosy, this causes red and pale patches on skin but bacteria can help leprosy be stronger. The second and most obvious is Tuberculoid leprosy, it is very obvious and causes numbness and affects mainly the nervous system. It also stops messages from the brain and the body can't feel pain. The final and weakest is Borderline tuberculoid leprosy, it causes smaller patches on skin and diminished sensation. Also it is easier treated but it can turn into Paucinacillary or Tuberculoid leprosy.
Can it be stopped
Leprosy has gone from 119 countries to 98 countries. But still many top fundraisers have had trouble in both South America and in Africa. The reason being is that many that have leprosy in these countries are homeless. which means they walk around from place to place making it nearly impossible to track them and continuously give them the medicine to cure leprosy. Also many that take the medicine take it once and think they are cured because they feel fine. On the other hand some don't know how to take the medicine and might over use it. Finally it is hard to stop because the leprosy disease can live in the body with no symptoms making it hard to be noticed by doctors.
Transmission and how it has helped it stopping
Leprosy is spread from the air. It rides on air particles and nasal fluids produced by the host. This may seem scary but this helps when it can only affect people around the host. This has helped the researchers so that it only affects only those in contact with the host. But this can also be bad if a leprosy patient is walking around with out a home it may, spread quicker. Before the twenty first century it was unknown how it was spread from people. This also led to the near elimination of leprosy now. Now leprosy is more quickly stopped and why it only remains in around 98 countries. WHO and CDC say that they haven't completed their goal until all the countries have on average one case per 100,000 people. This is a realistic goal and they should be able to do it they say.
Leprosy drug
The first known leprosy treatment was a oily liquid called chaulmoogra from kalaw trees in South America. This helped for a while but with more recent research they began using a drug called Sulfa but many didn't like it and it had many trade offs. while research continued they found that armadillos and other animals have leprosy as well. Finally with a new drug called Dapisone which has worked. This drug has a lot less trade offs which have made it more liked. But even with this powerful drug many patients have thought they are cured with one dose while you're supposed to take it for 6 months to 2 years. Also the drug does not come in very large cases so people that are homeless can't take it for an extended amount of time.
Bibliography
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"Elimination of Leprosy FAQ." WHO. WHO, 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.
Leprosy drug. Digital image. WHO. Who. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
"Leprosy (Hansens Disease)." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 May 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"Leprosy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Apr. 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.