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Leprosy: the disease

Chains are never seen. Most striking are the intracellular and extra-cellular masses, known as globi, which consist of clumps of bacilli in capsular material. Under the electron microscope the bacillus appears to have a great variety of forms. The commonest is a slightly curved filament 3-10 m in length containing irregular arrangements of dense material sometimes in the shape of rods. Short rod-shaped structures can also be seen (identical with the rod-shaped inclusions within the filaments) and also dense spherical forms. Some of the groups of bacilli can be seen to have a limiting membrane.
             It is believed that only leprosy bacilli which stain with carbol-fuchsin as solid acid-fast rods are viable and that bacilli which stain irregularly are probably dead and degenerating. The differences are valuable pointers in biopsy specimens to the effects of treatment. In patients receiving standard multidrug therapy (MDT), a very high proportion of bacilli are killed within days, which suggests that many of the manifestations of leprosy, including reactions of the erythema nodosum type, which follow initial treatment, must be due in part to antigens from dead organisms rather than living bacilli. We therefore need drugs which will help the body to dispose of dead but still intact leprosy bacilli.
             Two indices which depend on observation of M. leprae in smears from skin or nasal smears are useful in assessing the amount of infection, and the viability of the organisms and also the progress of the patient under treatment. They are the morphological index and the bacteriological index.
             1. The bacteriological index (BI). This is an expression of the extent of bacterial loads. It is calculated by counting six to eight stained smears under the 100 x oil immersion lens. in a smear made by nicking the skin with a sharp scalpel and scraping it; the fluid and tissue obtained are spread fairly thickly on a slide and stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen method and decolorized (but not completely) which 1% acid alcohol.


Essays Related to Leprosy: the disease

1. Leprosy

Leprosy is a bacterial disease of the skin and nerves in the hands and feet and the mucus membranes of the nose, eyes and respiratory tract. It is also called Hansen's disease. ... There are 2 main kinds of leprosy: Lepromatous, the more common form in which the disease spreads up the nerves but doesn't stick to them, and Tuberculoid, in which it sticks to the nerves. ... Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases know to man. ... Since a large number of people with leprosy live in underdeveloped areas, the main challenge to ridding the world of the disease is finding and treating peop...

  • Word Count: 474
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  • Grade Level: High School

2. Leprosy

Leprosy has afflicted humanity since time beyond measure. ... Alternative names Hansen's disease Causes Leprosy is caused by the organism Mycobacterium leprae. It is a difficult disease to transmit and has a long incubation period, which makes it difficult to determine where or when the disease was contracted. Children are more at risk than adults to contracting the disease. ... Sensory loss is a typical feature of leprosy. ...

  • Word Count: 906
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Leprosy

Leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease that usually affects the skin and nerves and has plagued the human race over many years. ... It is believed that Leprosy was to have originated on the Asian continent a long time before Christ. ... Presently, the disease leprosy affects many people worldwide and is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions like Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Central America. ... Last but not least, there is the lepromatous type, which is the worst type pf leprosy one could have. ... "These macules are what gave the...

  • Word Count: 1799
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Folklore Medicine

People suffered from many diseases, including smallpox, dysentery, leprosy, respiratory illnesses, malaria, and syphilis. In those times, people died from measles, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis.Misconceptions: Leprosy was thought to be extremely contagious, though today we know it isn't contagious at all. ... People believed, for example, that disease was spread by bad odors. It was also assumed that diseases of the body resulted from sins of the soul. ... These cause disease. ...

  • Word Count: 2010
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  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Father Damien Selections

Stern Puritan divines felt leprosy was the result of the Hawaiian people's decadence. ... He claimed Damien contracted leprosy through his licentious behavior. ... Ultimately, Damien's actions lead to him contracting leprosy in 1884. ... He saw it as his duty to care for the lepers, and when he contracted the disease, he regarded it as a shortcut to heaven. ... He saw his death as "the will of God [and thanked] Him very much for letting me die of the same disease and in the same way as my lepers. ...

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  • Grade Level: High School

6. Syphilis History Of

Another explanation is that syphilis was always present in the Old World but was not identified as a separate disease from leprosy before about AD 1500. ... By 1497, the disease had spread throughout France. ... Syphilis is primarily a sexually transmitted disease (STD). ... This disease has had a huge impact on our world history. ... Ore cinnabar, a form of mercury, had been used in the 1300's for the treatment of various skin diseases including leprosy. ...

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7. What history means to me

Without records of things that have happened, people in the 1500's wouldn't know not to go anywhere infected with the bubonic plague or to stay away from people affected with leprosy. Also without history people wouldn't have records of how to cure simple diseases. ...

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8. The Story Of Honor

When Sachi got sick with leprosy she was considered somewhat of an outcast to her family, therefore deserting her. ... When the disease hit the town of Tarumi, it was devastating to the little town. ... "The disease chose randomly, infecting our young and old Some of those who suffering from the disease quickly left the village, while others ended their lives, hoping not to dishonor their families.""-Matsu when talking about the disease Matsu is the loner type in the book. ... The problem that Kenzo was that he loved, and was engaged to Sachi, and when she got Leprosy, he started to change...

  • Word Count: 825
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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