IS LEPROSY CONTAGIOUS?1

How old is leprosy?

features of drug trials whose presence or absence has been used to assess reports of trials (Ross, 1951; Mahon and Daniel, 1964; Reiffenstein et al., 1968). Such a method of assessing reports may, however, give the impression that if these requirements are met then the therapeutic trial must be reliable and valid. It overlooks the fact that many other pointsfor example, the selection of patient...

Leprosy: what is being "eliminated"?

Pure neural Leprosy: A case report

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease endemic in Iran that mainly involves skin and peripheral nerves. Leprosy has several clinical forms. One of them is “Pure neural leprosy”. The diagnosis of this form is delayed due to lack of clinical signs in other tissues and can lead to permanent deformity. I will discuss my experience for 20 years in the diagnosis and treatment of this form of leprosy...

Mycobacterial infections causing cutaneous disease; or how is leprosy transmitted?

Armauer Hansen showed in 1873 that M. leprae was the pathogenic agent for leprosy. Leprosy was the first infectious disease in which the causal relationship between a microorganism and a disease was established. However, Koch’s postulates have not been fulfilled for leprosy. Unlike most other infectious diseases the mode of transmission for leprosy is still under debate. Most leprologists would...

Eliminating Leprosy in India--Is it a Dream?

In recent years there have been considerable discussions on the current leprosy situation in India and the status of the country's attempts to eliminate or eradicate the disease. In this connection it is very important to analyze the background and various developments relevant to leprosy elimination in India.