What is Leprosy?
'''Leprosy''' is a [[contagious disease]]. It has been known for a very long time. Today, it is mostly called '''Hansen's disease''', named after the person who discovered bacterium, [[Gerhard Armauer Hansen]]. It is caused by a [[bacterium]], [[Mycobacterium leprae]]. A person with leprosy is called a leper. As of 2004, the estimated number of new infections was about 400,000. Getting the [[disease]] is hard, since it requires close contact with someone who has it, over a long period of time. In addition, about 95% of [[people]] seem to be naturally immune to it. Most cases of leprosy occur in [[India]], and other developing countries. It has known to have been in the US before. There are practically no cases of leprosy in the developed world. This is because there are excellent [[drug]]s and people regularly take [[antibiotics]] which will kill the leprosy bacteria. In former times, leprosy was seen as a divine [[punishment]] for [[sin]]s committed. == Symptoms == The [[Symptom|symptoms]] of leprosy are irregular spots and patches on the [[skin]]. These are either lighter colored than the surrounding skin, or reddish in color. On those patches, hair will fall out, and they will feel numb to the [[patient]]. Nerves will form knots there. With the [[illness]] progressing the sense of touch will become less and less (until the patient feels completely numb). So called leptomes and ulcers will eat away the skin, the flesh and the organs on the patches. Usually people do not die of leprosy, but of secondary infections and diseases they get. For many years there was a leprosy colony on the Hawaiian Island of [[Molokai]] called [[Kalaupapa]]. Tens of thousands of people from the United States that had the disease were sent there. ==Gallery== <gallery> File:Lepra_2003.png|New cases of leprosy, in 2003. The darker the color, the more cases. File:Leprosy Cranium.JPG|Skull deformed by leprosy File:Leprosy deformedfeet.JPG|Feet deformed by leprosy File:Leprosy.jpg|24-year-old man from Norway, suffering from leprosy,