National Leprosy Eradication - Early Signs and Symptoms, How to Protect Yourself

Leprosy is caused by Bacillus mycobacterium leprae. It is a heat-sensitive germ that mainly affects nerves and subcutaneous tissues. The disease usually does not affect the internal organs.
It takes an average of 3 years for the disease to appear when the germ enters the body. It affects any age group of women/men.
99% of people have sufficient natural strength to fight leprosy. Only 1% of people are likely to get this disease. People who have less power, they can get this disease, but they will get this disease, it is not necessary.

Mycobacterium leprae, first seen in 1874 by Gerhard Henson, a Norwegian physician. Hence this bacterium and the disease caused by it are called Hansen's Bacillus and Henson's disease.
The organism has not yet been cultivated out of living tissues. Armadillo has been grown in tissues since 1974.
The same vaccine used to treat leprosy, which is used in vaccination against tuberculosis (BCG vaccine), has also been found useful for leprosy.
To detect this germ, there is a rapid screening test called a Lepromine test or Mitsuda reaction. An extract is taken from the lepromatous tissue and tested in the case of tuberculosis. If the person has become sensitive to exposure to the disease, then a nodule will develop in 3 to 4 days.

Transmission of leprosy

• The exact mechanism of transmission of leprosy is not known.
• Contact between leprosy and healthy individuals spreads the disease.
• Recently, the possibility of transmission by the respiratory tract is increasing.

The main symptoms of leprosy are

Skin lesion with leprosy or with definite sensory loss, with or without condensate veins. Positive skin smear. Any part of the body that has numbness on the skin is not felt when touching and pinching it.

Inflammation of the main superficial veins and numbness around it.

The Early Symptoms of  Leprosy

On the skin, Fade from the color of the skin, flat or embroidered hollow yellow or red bracelet stains/scarring, which has a sunburn (no stains on the scars)has appeared. It is not itching and does not feel cold or hot.

On the face, on the sides of the eyebrows, on the chin, ears and the gum swelling or swollen. The main partner nerves have swelling, fatigue, and pain in the nerves, along with dryness, dryness in the field of nerves Hands and feet have tingling, numbness, dryness.

Causes of Leprosy 

Leprosy caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which multiplies very slowly in the human body. 

The bacterium has a long incubation period (average 5 years or longer). The disease affects nerve endings and destroys the body’s ability to feel pain and injury.

Diagnosis of leprosy 

The guidelines maintain the standard methods for diagnosis, which include the presence of at least one of the three clinical signs of leprosy:

(i) Loss of sensation in a pale (hypopigmented) or reddish skin patch.


(ii) A thickened or enlarged peripheral nerve with loss of sensation.


(iii) The presence of acid-fast bacilli in a slit-skin smear. Because the clinical diagnosis of early leprosy and paucibacillary (PB) leprosy can be a challenge.

Types of leprosy

Leprosy traditionally been classified into 2 major groups.

Lepromatous leprosy:

This is characterized by tumor-like growths called lepromas on the skin and along the respiratory tract. When patches of infection occur on hand and feet skin my loss pigments.

Tuberculoid leprosy:

It involves the superficial nerves. Due to these muscles undergo atrophy. There is disfiguring of skin and bones, twisting of limb and curling in the fingers to form characteristic claw hand. often the nasal cartilage and outer ear tissue degenerate.

Segmentation of patients for leprosy treatment

For people who have immunity but not enough, the disease effect is limited after the entry of a germ in their body. A patient who has 2 to 5 stains on their body are classified as paucibacillary (PB). Taking them for a short period of 6 months is sufficient.
A special condition when stains and spots do not occur in the patient's body, only the nerves are affected, are placed in the pure neurologic category. Such a patient is placed in the multibacillary (MB) category.
If germs are found in the examination of the skin of a patient, then he is also placed in the MB category.

Prevention of the Leprosy 

The National Leprosy Control Programme was launched by the Government of India in 1955. 
Multi-Drug Therapy came into wide use in 1982 and the National Leprosy Eradication Programme was introduced in 1983. 
Since then, remarkable progress has been achieved in reducing, the disease burden. India achieved the goal set by the National Health Policy, 2002 of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem, defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 population, at the National level in December 2005. 
Leprosy is curable when the treatment provided in the early stages of infection averts disability. Multidrug therapy is available for the treatment of leprosy. 

Multidrug provides a simple yet highly effective cure for all types of leprosy.

Treatment of the Leprosy 

• It is recommended for all leprosy patients, with the duration of treatment lasting 6 months for paucibacillary leprosy and 12 months for multibacillary leprosy. 
• The potential advantage of using the same three drugs for both forms of the disease is the simplification of treatment. 
• The patients who are resistant to rifampicin, the following drugs are recommended:
• clarithromycin, minocycline, or a quinolone (ofloxacin, levofloxacin, or moxifloxacin), plus clofazimine daily for 6 months, followed by clofazimine plus one of the second-line drugs daily for an additional 18 months. 
• For patients resistant to rifampicin and ofloxacin, clarithromycin, minocycline and clofazimine may be used for 6 months, followed by clarithromycin or minocycline plus clofazimine for an additional 18 months. 
• For adults and children (aged above 2 years) who are in regular contact with leprosy patients, the guidelines recommend the use of single-dose rifampicin.
• The treatment including diet for leprosy and tuberculosis patients is totally free by the government of India. The government also conducted many rehabilitation programs for leprosy and tuberculosis patients.

 leprosy three main drugs, 

👉 Rifampicin,

👉 Dapsone,

👉 Clofazimine.