10 truths about leprosy

• May 8, 2024

The leprosy is a disease chronic disease caused by an acid-fast bacillus called Mycobacterium leprae, which affects the skin and the peripheral nerves, as well as the mucosa of the respiratory tract and the eyes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

This condition is curable and not very contagious; if it is treated in the early stages, disability is avoided. In the world there are more than 213 thousand people infected, mainly in Asia and Africa.

In Mexico, the health jurisdiction of Acapulco announced that the state of Guerrero ranks third in leprosy nationwide.

During 2015, 52 people with this disease were registered.

Learn more about leprosy characteristics and how you can prevent it.

1. It multiplies very slowly, and the incubation period is five years.

2. Symptoms may take up to 20 years to appear, such as: injuries skin problems, muscle weakness and numbness.

3. For its detection, a lepromin skin test is performed, biopsy of injury skin and a dermis scraping test.

4. Children are more likely than adults to get it

5. It is not very contagious, but it can be transmitted by nasal or oral droplets when there is close and frequent contact with patients who do not have adequate treatment.

6. Without treatment, it can cause injuries progressive and permanent serious skin , nerves, extremities and in the eyes.

7. Early diagnosis and drug-based treatment are the fundamental elements to ensure that the disease ceases to be a public health problem.

8. Over the last 20 years more than 14 million patients have been cured.

9. Your prevalence rate has decreased by 90%. It has been eliminated in 119 of the 122 countries in which it constituted a public health problem in 1985.

10. So far, there have been no cases of resistance to treatment.

In Mexico, we seek to encourage health workers to intensify actions in the search for probable cases and their confirmation, to influence the reduction of the transmission of the disease and the prevention of disabilities.