Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It primarily affects the skin and nerves, causing disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage that can lead to progressive debilitation if left untreated. There are different classifications of leprosy including tuberculoid, lepromatous, and several borderline types based on symptoms. Treatment involves a multi-drug regimen of antibiotics to kill the bacteria as well as supportive care for symptoms and complications which, if left untreated, can include muscle weakness, sensory loss, and disfigurement.

1. LEPROSY (HANSEN’S DISEASE)
• Leprosy is an infectious disease
• derived from the French work “leper” and from the Greek word “lepros”, which means scaly,
referring to the scales that form on the skin
• disfiguring skin sores
• nerve damage
• progressive debilitation
Types of Leprosy
• Tuberculoid
• Lepromatous
Both types of leprosy produce lesions on the skin.
Lepromatous is most severe which produces large disfiguring nodules.
WHO classifications
Indeterminate leprosy
• a few hypopigmented macules;
• can heal spontaneously
Tuberculoid leprosy
• a few hypopigmented macules ,
• lose pain sensation
• nerves become enlarged
Borderline tuberculoid leprosy
• lesions like tuberculoid leprosy
• numerous with less nerve enlargement
Mid-borderline leprosy
• many reddish plaques
• swollen lymph nodes
Borderline lepromatous leprosy
• many skin lesions with macules (flat lesions) papules
• raised bumps,
• plaques, and nodules,
Lepromatous leprosy
• Early lesions are pale macules
• Alopecia (hair loss, often patients have no eyebrows or eyelashes)
• limb weakness
• disfigurement of many areas including the face
Causes of Leprosy
• Mycobacterium leprae
 rod-shaped bacilli
 grow slowly
 mainly affect the skin, nerves, and mucous membrane
TRANSMISSION
• Person to Person:
 spreads through infected respiratory droplets
 can infect others by entering breaks in the skin.

2.  cannot infect intact skin
Signs & Symptoms of Leprosy
• Eye Problems
• Muscle Weakness
• Skin Rash
• Skin Stiffness
• Skin lesions that are lighter than your normal skin color
 Lesions have decreased sensation to touch, heat, or pain
 Lesions do not heal after several weeks to months
• Numbness or absent sensation in the hands, arms, feet, and legs
Diagnosis of Leprosy
• question about patient's symptoms,
• current medical condition,
• and medication etc.
• doing a test called a skin biopsy.
• Lepromin skin test can be used to distinguish lepromatous from tuberculoid leprosy
• Skin scraping examination for acid fast bacteria
When special stains are used for microscopic analysis, it stains red on a blue background due to
mycolic acid content in its cell walls
Complications of Leprosy
• Cosmetic Disfigurement
• Muscle Weakness
• Nerve Damage in the Extremities
• Sensory Loss in the Skin
OCULAR MANIFESTATION
• lagophthalmos,
• loss of eyebrows,
• corneal exposure
• keratitis
• uveitis
• scleritis
• loss of sensation with corneal ulceration with scarring.
Treatments of Leprosy
• Treatment of leprosy typically involves medicines along with supportive care
• Supportive care is aimed at treating symptoms and associated complications
• A number of different antibiotics are used to kill the bacteria that causes the disease.
• Aspirin, prednisone, or thalidomide are used to control inflammation
PREVENTION
• Avoiding physical contact with untreated people
• People who are in immediate contactwith the leprosy patient should be testedfor leprosy. • Annual
examinations
• Comprehensive care involves teaching patients to care for themselves.
• Physiotherapy exercises are taught to the patients to prevent the deformities from worsening