What exactly is this mysterious and difficult-to-eradicate leprosy?

At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, everyone was afraid because people did not understand COVID-19. In fact, in the face of all devastating epidemics in history, humans seemed helpless at first, such as leprosy more than 2,000 years ago.

Speaking of leprosy, it is one of the ancient diseases of mankind, and is known as one of the three major chronic infectious diseases along with tuberculosis and syphilis. Although modern medical technology continues to develop, this ancient disease has not been completely eradicated, but is still lingering.

So what exactly is this mysterious and difficult-to-eradicate disease called leprosy? And what are its symptoms?

Leprosy, as the name suggests, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. This disease mainly damages the skin and peripheral nerves.

Let's talk about skin damage first. Most leprosy patients have mild early symptoms and are easily ignored. Because everyone's immunity to Mycobacterium leprae is different, the early clinical symptoms of leprosy patients vary from person to person.

In 2019, an article titled "Early Symptoms and Clinical Manifestations of Leprosy" mentioned that the vast majority of leprosy patients will have skin lesions, and the forms of skin lesions can be diverse, often accompanied by sensory disorders such as numbness, temperature sensation, and pain sensation. This phenomenon is more common in the skin at the site of skin lesions and the area innervated by the affected nerves, and is often manifested on the face and extremities.

Specifically, there are five types of skin lesions caused by leprosy.

The skin lesions of lepromatous leprosy are characterized by large number, wide distribution and symmetry. The skin color generally changes from the initial red to reddish yellow and brownish yellow. Among them, the face, chest and back are the most common sites for early plaque skin lesions, which are light red and light in color. Generally speaking, patients do not have obvious sensory impairment. However, this type of leprosy patients will have symptoms of sparse eyebrows and eyelashes in the early stage.

The skin lesions of intermediate-border leprosy are characterized by polymorphism and polychromy, with macules and plaques as the main rash types, and wine-colored, withered yellow, and brown-yellow as the main colors. Some patients also have gray-brown "bat-shaped" facial lesions.

The skin lesions of borderline hemimatous leprosy are mainly macules, papules, and plaques, which are red or orange in color, and are numerous and small in shape. Some lesions are relatively large, showing "hole areas", that is, the infiltration outside is blurred and the inner edge is clear.

The skin lesions of tuberculous leprosy are mainly macules and plaques, usually 1-3 in number, round or oval in shape, and light, pale or red in color. In severe cases, they can be dark red or purple.

The skin lesions of undetermined leprosy are characterized by instability and may resolve and heal on their own, or transform into other types of leprosy.

Another notable feature of leprosy is the enlargement of peripheral nerves. Clinically, the most common enlargement of the ulnar nerve, the common peroneal nerve, and the auricular nerve. Since each patient's condition is different, their nerve enlargement also varies. However, it is certain that most leprosy patients generally have skin damage and enlarged nerves at the same time.

Although leprosy has two significant characteristics: skin damage and nerve damage, it is still easily confused with other skin diseases and neurological diseases clinically. Therefore, leprosy can only be confirmed when Mycobacterium leprae is detected.

At present, most scholars believe that leprosy is transmitted through long-term close contact. This means that if family members or friends have been in long-term contact with leprosy patients before they are diagnosed, then just in case, they should take the initiative to undergo health checks every year and pay attention to possible leprosy symptoms in themselves. If suspicious symptoms occur, they should immediately seek medical treatment from a professional doctor.

In addition, it is worth reminding everyone that there has always been a misunderstanding about leprosy - that it is highly contagious. This is wrong. In fact, it is not very contagious. Most people have natural immunity to it, and only a few susceptible people will develop the disease.

Of course, this does not mean that leprosy is not terrible. Although leprosy has been effectively controlled, it has not been completely eradicated. Only by letting everyone know more about leprosy as soon as possible can we prevent it from happening.

References:

Sun Shaobin. Early symptoms and clinical manifestations of leprosy[J]. Medical World, 2019(12):1.