Leprosy or also known as Hansen’s disease, an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae infection. The name Hansen disease comes from the person who found Mycobacterium leprae, GA Hansen.
Hansen sufferers are usually called lepers or in English lepers, although the use of the term lepers is increasingly being abandoned due to the declining number of patients and to avoid the stigma associated with leprosy.
According to myhealth.gov, the incubation period is very long varying from 1 year to 40 years. The disease strikes mainly young people between 10 to 20 years of age, males more often than females.
To know more about it, below are the full explanation by Public Health Malaysia on Facebook regarding Leprosy:
LEPROSY
Many people think that leprosy has disappeared from Malaysia but it still exists. Every year as many as 300-350 new cases are detected.
Although the main symptoms involve the skin, leprosy does NOT spread through skin contact. It is an airborne disease, it spreads through droplets in the air. When a leper sneezes or coughs, droplets containing bacteria will be released into the air.
In the old days, leprosy patients were isolated in leprosy isolation centers, such as the National Leprosy Control Center, Sungai Buloh, and the Leprosy Treatment Center, Pulau Jerejak, Penang.
Signs of skin rashes as well as defects as a result of this disease have brought severe stigma in patients.
Today, leprosy can be treated effectively and patient isolation is NO LONGER NECESSARY. Here we share the early symptoms of leprosy that many people are NOT AWARE because the leprosy rash is not itchy and not painful.
Sources: Public Health Malaysia, myhealth.gov