In the not-so-distant history of our history, this disease has caused countless illnesses, disabilities, discrimination, panic and human tragedy.
It is a chronic infectious disease that progresses to "hair loss", "collapsed eyes and nose", "limb deformity", etc.
These terrible external symptoms, combined with their contagious nature, make people extremely fearful of them and stigmatize them. In the history of countries around the world, it is not uncommon for patients with the disease to be isolated, burned or buried alive......
Now, the disease has been largely eliminated in the vast majority of countries in the world, including China, so much so that many people are ignorant of it.
The disease, which has been called "one of the oldest plagues in the world" – is called "leprosy"
(Leper 10 years ago Photo/Lin Qiang)
According to the statistics of 1949, there were more than 500,000 leprosy patients on the mainland at that time, mainly concentrated in the southeast and southwest coastal areas. The prevention and treatment of leprosy is a major event in the history of public health in New China. "Investigation, isolation, and treatment", many "leprosy villages" dedicated to the residence and treatment of leprosy patients were born during that period.
The "master of imitation" of dermatology
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which mainly invades the skin and peripheral nerves, and has the characteristics of insidious early symptoms, long incubation period, and easy teratogenic disabilities. The skin manifestations of leprosy are diverse, and multiple skin lesions such as erythema, papules, scaling, plaques, wheals, and nodules can appear, which can easily be misdiagnosed as other skin diseases, resulting in delayed treatment. For this reason, dermatologists also refer to leprosy as a "master of imitation" of skin diseases.
20-year-old Xiao Liu appeared scattered erythema on his abdomen, because it was not painful or itchy, he didn't care about it at first, but after more than 1 month, the skin lesions not only did not subside, but the scope became larger and larger, the trunk and limbs were covered with erythema, dry and scaling, and there was still no obvious itching.
Xiao Liu, who was troubled, used his spare time to start searching for information related to his condition on the Internet, to see if this disease was like, to see if that disease was also like, and when Xiao Liu was entangled, a disease name came into his sight - leprosy! And the information showed that leprosy can imitate a variety of skin diseases.
At this time, Xiao Liu couldn't hold his breath at all, and immediately hung up a dermatology expert number. After a detailed examination, the specialist told him that he was actually suffering from pityriasis rosea, not leprosy, which was frightening to him.
After treatment, Xiao Liu's skin lesions quickly subsided. Although it was a false alarm, the experts still affirmed Xiao Liu's vigilance against leprosy, and although the incidence of leprosy is very low, the prevention and control of leprosy should not be taken lightly.
Clinical manifestations of leprosy
The clinical manifestations of leprosy are very complex, and doctors in some low-incidence areas do not even have enough understanding of leprosy because they do not see leprosy patients all year round.
CDC experts colloquially summarized the common clinical manifestations of leprosy:
(1) Painless and itchy rashes (erythema, white spots, light-colored spots, papules, nodules, etc.) appear on the skin, which do not heal for a long time.
(2) Loss or reduction of sensation in skin lesions, numbness and sweating.
(3) Eyebrows are sparse and fall out.
(4) Incomplete closure of the eyelids and crooked corners of the mouth.
(5) Edema or lumps appear on the face or earlobes, and the face looks like drunkenness.
（6）爪形手、虎口肌肉萎缩。
(7) Numbness or tingling sensation in hands and feet.
(8) Weakness of hand, foot or eyelid muscles.
(9) Hanging wrists and feet.
(10) Painless wounds or ulcers occur, which do not heal for a long time.
(11) Peripheral nerve enlargement, pain or tenderness.
It is recommended that those who have these symptoms go to a regular hospital or CDC for consultation and treatment in time. Dermatologists also remind that if general skin diseases cannot be cured for a long time or the treatment effect is not good, especially those that are not painful or itchy, they should also be highly valued.
How can the average person prevent it?
1. Detect early
Leprosy patients are the only source of infection, especially untreated patients in the infectious phase who are at greater risk. For individuals suspected of leprosy, they should go to the hospital or CDC for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible, and conduct health screenings on the family members and close contacts of confirmed patients, so as to achieve early detection and take effective measures to reduce the risk of infection.
2. Proper isolation and protection
Mycobacterium leprae is mainly transmitted through respiratory inhalation of droplets and long-term close skin contact. The vast majority of people are immune to leprosy, and we should wear masks, wash hands frequently, pay attention to personal hygiene, strengthen nutrition, and improve immunity when we are in close contact with untreated leprosy patients in the infectious stage, which can reduce the risk of getting sick.
3. Early and standardized treatment can achieve cure
With the development and progress of medicine, there are more and more drugs for the treatment of leprosy, and the mainland is free of charge for leprosy. It is also very convenient to treat, taking medicine once a day, it can be cured in 6 months for leprosy with few bacteria, and 12 months with multibacterial leprosy. As long as early, timely and standardized treatment is provided, leprosy patients can recover their health relatively quickly and achieve cure. Some patients with delayed diagnosis, although they can be cured, may be left with sequelae such as disfigurement and deformity.
In 1954, the World Health Organization designated the last Sunday of January as World Leprosy Day. This year, 28 January marks the 71st World Leprosy Day.
Although leprosy has been well controlled in the mainland and the incidence rate is low, the whole society should still pay attention to it. Leprosy can mimic many common skin diseases, especially in the early stage of the patient is more difficult to detect, doctors and patients should be more vigilant about leprosy, once the small tail of the "imitation master" is found, to think of the possibility of leprosy, timely medical treatment and necessary examinations.
Of course, we should not be overly afraid and discriminatory, leprosy is no longer terrible, as long as early diagnosis and early treatment are achieved, the so-called leprosy is no longer an "incurable disease".
According to the Leprosy Control Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 406 new cases of leprosy in the country in 2020, and 1,893 active cases. The newly discovered leprosy shows a clear downward trend every year. The promotion of the "combined chemotherapy" method has made patients no longer contagious after one week of treatment at home, and isolation treatment has become a thing of the past.
But the history is not far away, and the people in the "leprosy village" are still living in this world. The leprosy patients have entered old age, the leprosy will be eradicated, and the leprosy patients will eventually die, but "this historical thing can never be erased" and we should not forget it.
(Qian Zhichang, a 70-year-old leprosy patient, is still insisting on working Photo / Lin Qiang)
Guided by the Propaganda Department of Henan Provincial Health Commission
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