Discuss the cause and prevalence of leprosy

Answer 1

Leprosy, also referred to as Hansen's disease, is a bacterial infection caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae, which, if left untreated, becomes a chronic disease. At the beginning of 2009, the global prevalence of Leprosy was 213,036, continuing the steady decline in reported cases of the disease since 2002, at which time there were 620,638 cases. This decline followed a dramatic decrease in the global prevalence of the disease from 1980 to 2000, which went from 21.1 per 10,000 people to less than 1 per 10,000, a 90% drop (World Health Organization, 2009). Though leprosy cases have been documented across the globe, it is primarily found in Africa and Asia. Despite the stigma surrounding leprosy, it is difficult to contract, transmissible only in airborne droplets from the nose or mouth and typically only after close and prolonged contact with an untreated individual.?