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Become aware and empathetic on World Leprosy Day 2022

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The world is often a harsh and unfair place when you are suffering from a disease that carries social stigma. Leprosy is one such ailment. In 2005, it was declared eradicated in India. Then, it re-emerged in different states. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), India accounts for more than half of the over 200,000 cases detected globally every year. Therefore, an occasion like World Leprosy Day that the world celebrateson 30thJanuary every year, has a great significance in our country. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness about the disease starting from its causes to its treatment. Correct information is necessary to not just truly eradicate the ailment, but also fight the social stigma and discrimination it brings along. Also find out how having health insurance can help.

What Is Leprosy?

Also known as Hanson’s disease, leprosy is an infection caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It is a slowly developing disease and may take up to 20 years for the symptoms to develop. Leprosy mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, eyes, and nasal mucosa (lining of the nose). It causes severe disfiguring and discolouring of the skin, making the skin lighter or darker, dry or flaky,and leads to loss of sensation.

While leprosy is contagious,it is mildly so. It spreads from person to person via droplets from the mouth and nose only if you are in close and frequent contact with someone with untreated leprosy. It does not spread if the affected person is undergoing treatment. However, the stigma attached to the disease continues to exist in many places and those suffering from it are ostracized and discriminated against by their families and communities.

Symptoms of Leprosy

As leprosy is a slowly developing disease, the symptoms usually take about 3-5 years to appear, and in some cases, the symptoms occur after 20 years or even more.

• Skin symptoms: Skin lesions, sores, bumps or lumps that take several weeks or months to heal,thick and dry skin, painless ulcers on the soles of feet, painless swelling on the face or earlobes,and loss of eyebrows or eyelashes

• Nerve damage symptoms: Muscle weakness (especially in the hands and feet), loss of sensation in the affected areas, enlarged nerves (especially around the elbows and knees), damage to eyes causing blindness

• Nose bleeds and stuffy nose

What Causes Leprosy?

Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a slowly growing bacteriadamaging the skin and nervous system.It’s not exactly known how the disease is transmitted but scientists believe the cause to be close physical contact with someone who has the disease. When aninfected person coughs or sneezes and a healthy person breathes in the droplets containing the bacteria, they get infected. It doesn’t get transmitted from casual contact such as hugging or shaking hands, sitting near the affected person in public transport or having a meal together.

A pregnant woman with leprosy cannot transmit it to her unborn baby. The disease also doesn’t spread through sexual contact.

Forms of Leprosy

Here are the different forms you should know about:

• Tuberculoid: A mild form of leprosy with few flat or slightlyraised skin lesions which are pale-coloured or slightly red. There may be numbness in the affected area because of nerve damage underneath the skin. Compared to other forms of leprosy, tuberculoid is less contagious.

• Lepromatous: This is a more severe form and the skin lesions and bumps are widespread. There is numbness and muscle weakness. Apart from the skin, this form of leprosy also affects the kidneys, nose and other organs. It is more contagious.

• Borderline: A person with borderline leprosy has the clinical features and symptoms of both tuberculoid and lepromatous.

How is Leprosy Diagnosed?

If you have a skin sore, your doctor will recommend a biopsy. This means, a small piece of the skin will be removed and sent to the lab for testing. Your doctor may also suggest for a skin smear test. To know the form of leprosy, you will need to get a lepromin skin test done. In this test, the doctor will inject a small amount of leprosy-causing bacteria, which has been inactivated, into the skin of your forearm. After 3 days, the doctor will check the spot of the injection and then again after 28 days to see if there’s any reaction. If there’s a reaction, the person has tuberculoid or borderline tuberculoid leprosy.

Leprosy Treatment

Leprosy is curable and if treated in the early stages, can prevent disability. The WHO has recommended multidrug therapy (MDT) for treating leprosy. MDT is a combination of antibiotics - dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine – and the dosage and duration of treatment depends on the form of leprosy and its severity. The treatment usually lasts from 6 months to 1 year and if the condition is severe, you may need to take the antibiotics for a longer duration. The antibiotics will kill the leprosy-causing bacteria, but it cannot reverse the nerve damage or any disfigurationthat may have occurred before the diagnosis. If left untreated, leprosy can cause permanent nerve damage in the hands and legs.

Leprosy Complications

Delay in diagnosis and treatment can lead to serious complications such as

• Disfiguration of the face

• Hair loss, especially on the eyebrows and eyelashes

• Muscle weakness

• Blindness or glaucoma

• Kidney failure

• Infertility

• Iritis, that is, inflammation of the iris of the eye

• Nose bleeds and chronic nasal congestion

• Permanent nerve damage in the arms and legs

Conclusion

In many places, those suffering from leprosy are still being ostracized. If you are among that unfortunate few, the need of the hour is to create awareness about the disease and its treatment and try to lead a normal life. Leprosy is curable and in the last 20 years, more than 16 million leprosy patients have been cured. On World Leprosy Day, let’s come together to fight the social stigma attached to the disease. Also, keep a health insurance plan handy to cover treatment costs in case of an emergency.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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