I am a leper does not mean I can't leap

PAL (people affected with leprosy)

As medical students and resident doctors of the University of Uyo, Nigeria joined the rest of the globe to commemorate World Leprosy Day,
On 28th January, Myself (a medical biochemist) and some friends decided to join the team to support this movement.

We would be doing a road walk, tomorrow 27th and on the 28th visiting the home for leprosy patient in the state of Akwa-Ibom Nigeria.

Medicine experts reiterated that stopping stigmatisation of leprosy, early diagnosis and improved treatment are the panacea for eradicating the disease in the country and in the world as a whole.

I am a leper does not mean I can't leap.
No, not at all, lepers are human as well, only deformed in body structure.

I made a post earlier last week Saturday during the Steemit Uyo hub launch, about leprosy,

https://steemit.com/health/@magdnrobinson/pal-greater-than-people-living-with-leprosy-d1c9600e84dfd

I didn't even think I could draw, it's amazing where inspiration could come from.

thanks to all that contributed in upvotes.
The pay out is tomorrow and am channeling it's outcome.
I made similar post in other social network, and I got some interesting views,

some said they never knew what leprosy is all about, I thought it was a sarcastic remark, but then since we are doing an awareness program, I explained as briefly and as precise I could, sharing links to were more informations about PAL can be gotten to them.

This post shows quick review of what leprosy is about.

What is leprosy?

Leprosy, according to health line is defined as Leprosy is a chronic, progressive bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae it primarily affects the nerves of the extremities, the lining of the nose, and the upperLeprosy produces skin sores, nerve damage, and muscle weakness.

These bacteria (mycobacterium leprae) attack nerves in the hands, feet and face, causing numbness and loss of sensation to those parts of the body.

It can also affect the nose and the eyes.
If it isn’t treated,
it can cause severe disfigurement and significant disability.

It is curable and treatment provided in the early stages averts disability.

leprosy attacks nerves in the legs, interrupting communication of sensation to the feet.
As a result, pain, is not felt by the patient,
and can have injuries to their hands and feet without realizing it.

The damaged nerves also lead to the skin peeling off, and the tissue beneath the skin is exposed.

The funny thing is that this disease can be easily missed or mistaken for some other disease.
One colleague of mine (a biochemist) said to me, that maybe we need to harness bacteria and check out its mechanism of action in causing leprosy.

Brilliant idea, I need check that out.

Now according to world health organization (WHO), leprosy is infectious (though it may not be highly infectious).
It is transmitted via droplets, from the nose and mouth,
during close and frequent contacts with untreated cases,
adding that untreated leprosy can cause progressive and permanent damage to some parts of the body.

WHO has maintained that early diagnosis and
treatment with multi-drug therapy remain the key elements in eliminating the disease as a public health concern.

Signs and Symptoms of Leprosy

The signs and symptoms vary considerably, depending on the patient’s resistance to the disease.
● darkened skin.
● loss or decrease of sensation in the skin patch
● numbness of the hand or feet
● weakness of the hands, feet or eyelids
● painful or sometimes tender nerves
● swelling or lumps in the face or earlobes
● painless wounds. The patient don't feel pain, and hence they could get burn without knowing.

Types of Leprosy

There are three systems for classifying leprosy.

The first system recognizes two types of leprosy:

tuberculoid and
lepromatous.

Although a person’s immune response to the disease determines their type of leprosy.

The immune response is good and the disease only exhibits a few lesions (sores on the skin) in tuberculoid leprosy.

The disease is mild and only mildly contagious. The immune response is poor in lepromatous leprosy and affects the skin, nerves, and other organs.

There are widespread lesions and nodules (large lumps and bumps). This disease is more contagious.

According to the world health organization (WHO) leprosy is categorizes based on the type and number of affected skin areas.

The first category is
paucibacillary: in which five or fewer lesions with no bacteria are detected in the skin sample.

The second category is
multibacillary: in which there are more than five lesions, bacteria is detected in the skin smear, or both.

Transmission of Leprosy

Leprosy spreads through contact with the mucus of an infected person.
This usually occurs when the infected person sneezes or coughs.
The disease isn’t highly contagious. Close, repeated contact with an untreated person can lead to contracting leprosy.

The bacteria responsible for leprosy multiply very slowly.

The disease has an incubation period (the time between infection and the appearance of the first symptoms) of up to five years.

Symptoms may not appear for as long as 20 years.

Treatment of Leprosy

WHO developed a multidrug therapy in 1995 to cure all types of leprosy. It’s available free of charge worldwide.

Additionally, several antibiotics treat leprosy by killing the bacteria that causes it.
These antibiotics include:

dapsone
rifampin
clofazamine
minocycline
ofloxacin

Medical doctor may prescribe more than one antibiotic at the same time. Anti-inflammatory medication such as aspirin, prednisone, or orthalidomide is also considered.

During a discussion with people to air their view and enlighten them, this are some of the questions they asked, and having researched before time, we were able to give them some answers with the help of doctor Usen, Dr Kufre (a resident doctor of the University of uyo)
Questions such as

is it white cockroaches that causes leprosy*?

can I touch a leprosy patient without being affected?

how do leprosy patient eat?

is leprosy a communicable disease?
And lots more question, which with the help of the doctors at the teaching hospital and some medical personnels I have been able to put the answers together.

References
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Thanks for reading.
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