History of Leprosy

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 History of Leprosy.

P.K.Ghatak, MD

No. 38

The Atharva Veda is the oldest document, preceding any other text anywhere else in which leprosy is mentioned. It is defined as a flesh-eating disease. In Sushruta Samhita, written in 600 BCE, a complete description of leprosy appeared, and Chaulmoogra oil was recommended for application on skin lesions of leprosy and continued to be used till Dapsone was introduced for the treatment of leprosy in 1945.

Alexander was blamed for bringing leprosy from India to the West with his soldiers. The slave trade business introduced leprosy to the Americas. After DNA analysis of bacteria was introduced as an investigative tool in epidemiology, the origin of leprosy has undergone modifications. DNA analysis indicates that leprosy originated from a single clone of a single nucleotide polymorphism. The origin of leprosy is still debated, likely originating in East Africa or the Near East. Four different strains of Mycobacterium leprae are identified and one strain dominates in one region of the world. The breakdown is as follows.

Strain no. 1. In East Africa, Asia, and the Pacific islands.

Strain no .2. Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Malawi, and New Caledonia.

Strain no.3. Europe, North Africa, and the Americas.

Strain no.4. West Africa and the Caribbean.

Leprosy is transmitted from one person to the other after years of living together, as in a family or in prisons. The mycobacteria are plentiful in nasal secretions and ulcerated lesions. Leprosy is not sexually transmitted and does not pass to a developing child in the mother's womb.

Risk factors for leprosy include immunosuppression due to poor nutrition, chronic diseases, or by administration of drugs.

India still leads all nations in having the most patients with leprosy and also the highest number of new cases detected every year.

In 1873, Gerhard A. Hansen, a Norwegian physician, discovered Mycobacterium leprae responsible for leprosy. Hensen disease is the other name of Syphilis.

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