2024-01-18 19:00:00
It is a pathology that has been forgotten in the West, because it has been relegated to the rank of an ancient, medieval disease. Yet it still rages and destroys lives. Here’s what you probably didn’t know about leprosy.
Leprosy, like the plague, may be one of the oldest diseases in the world and has existed for millennia, but it has still not been eradicated. If in Europe it no longer constitutes a public health problem since the 2000s, it is still prevalent elsewhere in the world, in the countries of the southern hemisphere, but also increasingly in the United States. Every year, 200,000 new cases leprosy are detected. Disease hits a person every 3 minutes in 145 countries. The doctor Christian Johnson, expert with the WHO and medical director at the Raoul Follereau Foundation, responds to main preconceived ideas that persist around this disease.
Has leprosy really disappeared in France?
Dr Johnson: “No, in reality, in mainland France, around ten new cases leprosy are reported every year. In Overseas, these are 30 to 40 cases per year. Which means thatfifty cases of leprosy arise every year in the country. Most come from foreign travelers who live in areas where the disease circulates a lot. India, Indonesia and Brazil are at the origin of 80% of cases diagnosed each year. In Africa, where the Raoul Follereau foundation operates, there are also many sick people, for example in Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Chad, etc. It is a disease that mainly affects marginalized, rural and poor populations since Antiquity. “
Are lepers contagious?
Dr Johnson: “Leprosy or Hansen’s disease is a chronic infection caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. She is not very contagiousbut some patients harbor billions of bacilli in their body, and transmit the disease when they speak, breathe, via droplets that spread by aerosols. Those who inhale these droplets which contain the germs can become infected. You generally need to be close, prolonged contact for several months with an untreated person to contract the disease. Once the patient is treated, and even from first dosehe has more than 80% less chance of transmitting the disease. But the problem is that we cannot always detect the infection in time. Because leprosy is characterized by very slow incubationand the first symptoms may appear one year, three years, six years after contamination. In the meantime, the patient can contaminate the people around him.”
Is it easy to recognize a leprosy patient?
Dr. Johnson: “The disease first appears by a spot on the skin linked to the destruction of nerve endings. This stain is insensitive: it is as a result ofa sensitivity test that the presence of the disease can be established. At this point, it’s good news becauseeffective and available treatment exist. However, if left untreated, the disease can be responsible for irreversible deformities of the eyes, hands and feet. At this point, the patient can be treated with surgery, but he will need to be helped to reintegrate socially with this handicap. Today, patients face theexclusion sociale. Raoul Follereau said: “In order for lepers to truly be freed from leprosy, the healthy must be cured of the absurd fear they have of these sick people, of these social excommunicates, of these banished people, of these monsters.”
But for people who live in remote areas, who have to use public transport, travel long distances to access care, and spend money before receiving treatment, it is complicated to get tested. Some populations first contact a traditional healer because they believe they have suffered a spell, which delays their treatment and aggravates the illness. As a result, they are 10,000 people are disabled for life every year. Au Benign or in Ivory Coastthese serious cases represent 25% of patients. However, this Thursday, January 18, we received good news from the teams on the ground in Ivory Coast: it isa 6 year old little girl, with a spot on the face, which was successfully detected. We are very happy, because this little girl is saved, it will not be disfigured and can be recovered. This is why the Foundation does everything to form mobile teams who go on site.”
Is there a vaccine against leprosy?
Dr. Johnson: “There is no vaccine for leprosy, but we are funding ongoing research in Brazil, at the preliminary stage. However, there is a treatment implemented since 1982 and who is always effective. This is a polychemotherapy, i.e. a combination of three antibiotics (dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine) which puts 6 to 12 months to act. The generalization of the treatment made it possible to cure 16 million people in the world.”
You may also be interested in:
⋙ A new discovery reveals the secrets of the appearance of the plague
⋙ Plague, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis: should we still fear them in France?
⋙ In what year was leprosy discovered?
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