Society and culture
India
British India enacted the Leprosy Act of 1898 which institutionalized those affected and segregated them by sex to prevent reproduction. The act was difficult to enforce but was repealed in 1983 only after multidrug therapy had become widely available. In 1983, the National Leprosy Elimination Programme, previously the National Leprosy Control Programme, changed its methods from surveillance to the treatment of people with leprosy. India still accounts for over half of the global disease burden. According to WHO, new cases in India during 2019 diminished to 114,451 patients (57% of the worlds total new cases). Until 2019, one could justify a petition for divorce with the spouses diagnosis of leprosy. Treatment cost
Between 1995 and 1999, the WHO, with the aid of the Nippon Foundation, supplied all endemic countries with free multidrug therapy in blister packs, channeled through ministries of health. This free provision was extended in 2000 and again in 2005, 2010 and 2015 with donations by the multidrug therapy manufacturer Novartis through the WHO. In the latest agreement signed between the company and the WHO in October 2015, the provision of free multidrug therapy by the WHO to all endemic countries will run until the end of 2025. At the national level, nongovernment organizations affiliated with the national program will continue to be provided with an appropriate free supply of multidrug therapy by the WHO. Historical texts
Written accounts of leprosy date back thousands of years. Various skin diseases translated as leprosy appear in the ancient Indian text, the Atharava Veda, by 600 BC.
Acheiropodia (ACHP) is an autosomal-recessive disorder that results in hemimelia, a lack of formation of the distal extremities. This is a congenital defect that consists of bilateral amputations of the distal upper and lower extremities, as well as aplasia of the hands and feet. It was first discovered and is prevalent almost exclusively in Brazil. Genetics
ACHP has been associated with a mutation in the LMBR1 gene. The disorder is inherited in an autosomal-recessive manner. This means the defective gene responsible for the disorder is located on an autosome, and two copies of the defective gene (one inherited from each parent) are required to be born with the disorder. The parents of an individual with an autosomal recessive disorder both carry one copy of the defective gene, but usually do not experience any signs or symptoms of the disorder. Diagnosis
References
External links
Overview at Orphanet
PDF of Am. J. of Human Genetics article