World Leprosy Day 2025 is on Sunday, January 26, 2025: Background Of Leprosy?

Sunday, January 26, 2025 is World Leprosy Day 2025. World Leprosy Day Help share the love of Jesus and raise awareness of leprosy in Asia.

World Leprosy Day ~ 27th

World Leprosy Day is observed internationally on January 26 or its nearest Sunday to increase the public awareness of the Leprosy or Hansen's Disease.

Background Of Leprosy?

I just read an article on it on MSN, it was maybe 2 or 3 days ago, I did find this though...

Background

Leprosy, also called Hansen's disease, is an infectious disease that is characterized by disfiguring skin sores and progressive nerve damage. Armauer Hansen discovered the disease-causing bacteria in 1873.

There are two types of leprosy: tuberculoid and lepromatous. Both forms cause skin sores and peripheral nerve damage, but lepromatous is more severe. It causes large, disfiguring lumps and bumps (nodules) on the skin. Only the lepromatous form is considered contagious.

Researchers estimate that more than one million people worldwide have leprosy. It is most common in Asia (especially Nepal and India), Latin America, and Africa. An estimated 4,000-6,000 Americans have leprosy. Nearly all cases of leprosy in the United States occur in patients who emigrated from developing countries. Leprosy is more common in developing countries because these areas are more likely to be unsanitary and highly populated.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), access to information, diagnostic procedures, and treatment have helped decrease the prevalence of leprosy worldwide. Since 1985, 113 countries out of the 122 countries where leprosy was a public health concern have eliminated the disease. Since 2001, the number of new leprosy cases has decreased by 20% each year.

Individuals can develop leprosy at any age. However, it is most common among patients who are in their 20s and 30s. The severity of leprosy does not vary with age.

Individuals can become infected with either form of leprosy after coming into contact with Mycobacterium leprae when they are exposed to contaminated soil or armadillos that carry the bacteria. However, researchers have not discovered exactly how the disease spreads from person to person. It was initially believed that the disease was transmitted after physical contact with an infected individual. However, experts currently believe that the lepromatous form of leprosy is passed from person to person through expelled droplets from the mouth and nose of an infected person. Experts believe that most cases are spread after close, long-term contact with an infected individual. According to this new theory, individuals who inhale these droplets may become infected.

Leprosy is not considered a highly contagious illness. About 95% of people who are exposed to the bacteria that causes leprosy do not develop the disease. Healthcare workers often treat people with leprosy for many years without contracting the disease.

A combination of medications, called antibiotics, is used to kill the bacterium that causes leprosy. These medications cure the disease and prevent it from progressing, but they do not reverse nerve damage or physical disfiguration. Therefore, it is important to visit a healthcare provider as soon as symptoms develop.

Synonyms

Antibiotics, bacteria, bacterial infection, bacterium, clofazimine, dapsone, Hansen's disease, immune response, leper, lepromatous, lepromatous leprosy, lepromin skin test, MDT, multidrug therapy, Mycobacterium leprae , nerve damage, nodules, peripheral nerve damage, peripheral nerves, tuberculoid, tuberculoid leprosy, reconstructive surgery, rifampin.

Author Information

This information has been edited and peer-reviewed by contributors to the Natural Standard Research Collaboration (www.naturalstandard.com).

Bibliography

Britton WJ, Lockwood DN. Leprosy. Lancet. 2004 Apr 10;363(9416):1209-19.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). www.cdc.gov . Accessed October 19, 2007.

Coeytaux A, Truffert A, Mueller Y, et al. [Leprosy, a neurologic disease.] [Article in French.] Rev Med Suisse. 2007 May 9;3(110):1178, 1180-4.

International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Association (ILEP). www.ilep.org.uk . Accessed October 19, 2007.

International Leprosy Association. www.leprosy-ila.org . Accessed October 19, 2007.

Katoch VM. Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy. Expert Rev Mol Med. 2002 Jul 22;2002:1-14.

Kumar B, Naafs B, Dogra S. Leprosy.Lepr Rev. 2007 Mar;78(1):5-6.

Natural Standard: The Authority on Integrative Medicine. www.naturalstandard.com . Copyright © 2007. Accessed October 19, 2007.

Stingl P. [Leprosy. Pathogenesis--classification--diagnosis--treatment.] [Article in German.] Hautarzt. 1990 Mar;41(3):126-30.

Ustianowski AP, Lockwood DN. Leprosy: current diagnostic and treatment approaches. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2003 Oct;16(5):421-7.

Valles H, Blanc J, Fumanal L, et al. [Initial otorhinolaryngologic lesions of lepromatous leprosy.] [Article in Spanish.] An Otorrinolaringol Ibero Am. 1992;19(1):77-86.

World Health Organization (WHO). www.who.int . Accessed October 19, 2007.

why is world leprosy eradication day celebrated on january 30? what is special about that day?

why is world leprosy eradication day celebrated on january 30? what is special about that day?

Please ask from Refeil Home for world leprosy, eradication day, celebrated on january 30, started the Britishers in olden Country, at Mohini Road, Dehradun, India!

What’s the purpose of world vitiligo day ?

What's the purpose of world vitiligo day ?

The World Vitiligo Day, observed on June 25, is an initiative aimed to build global awareness about vitiligo, a frequent and often disfiguring disease that can have significant negative psychosocial impact on patients, also because of numerous misconceptions still present in large parts of the world.

Vitiligo is an acquired disease characterized by skin depigmentation, due to destruction or malfunction of melanocytes (cells that produce melanin). It is present worldwide, and its prevalence in different countries ranges from less than 0.1% to more than 8% of general population (~1% in the United States and in Europe); thus, it can be estimated that approximately 100 million people in the world are affected.

Despite these data, worldwide awareness and knowledge of vitiligo are often rather inadequate, and several misconceptions prevent a correct approach to this disease: as some studies suggest, a significant number of patients identifies as possible causes poor medical care, personal behavior, diet, pollution, even “fate” or “evil eye”, and has doubts or wrong ideas about contagiousness; moreover, in many countries vitiligo is confused with leprosy. Even general physicians sometimes contribute to misinformation, by telling patients that there is no cure and no treatment is effective and/or classifying vitiligo as a purely aesthetic problem, not worth of research or treatment.

Have a pleasant day.

Holidays also on this date Sunday, January 26, 2025...