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Leprosy: the disease

Chains are never seen. Most striking are the intracellular and extra-cellular masses, known as globi, which consist of clumps of bacilli in capsular material. Under the electron microscope the bacillus appears to have a great variety of forms. The commonest is a slightly curved filament 3-10 m in length containing irregular arrangements of dense material sometimes in the shape of rods. Short rod-shaped structures can also be seen (identical with the rod-shaped inclusions within the filaments) and also dense spherical forms. Some of the groups of bacilli can be seen to have a limiting membrane.
             It is believed that only leprosy bacilli which stain with carbol-fuchsin as solid acid-fast rods are viable and that bacilli which stain irregularly are probably dead and degenerating. The differences are valuable pointers in biopsy specimens to the effects of treatment. In patients receiving standard multidrug therapy (MDT), a very high proportion of bacilli are killed within days, which suggests that many of the manifestations of leprosy, including reactions of the erythema nodosum type, which follow initial treatment, must be due in part to antigens from dead organisms rather than living bacilli. We therefore need drugs which will help the body to dispose of dead but still intact leprosy bacilli.
             Two indices which depend on observation of M. leprae in smears from skin or nasal smears are useful in assessing the amount of infection, and the viability of the organisms and also the progress of the patient under treatment. They are the morphological index and the bacteriological index.
             1. The bacteriological index (BI). This is an expression of the extent of bacterial loads. It is calculated by counting six to eight stained smears under the 100 x oil immersion lens. in a smear made by nicking the skin with a sharp scalpel and scraping it; the fluid and tissue obtained are spread fairly thickly on a slide and stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen method and decolorized (but not completely) which 1% acid alcohol.


Essays Related to Leprosy: the disease

1. Leprosy

... cell culture. There are 2 main kinds of leprosy: Lepromatous, the more common form in which the disease spreads up the nerves but doesn't stick to them, and Tuberculoid, in which it sticks to the nerves. They are classified by the 5-scale TT-LL System, with non-infectious leprosy at the low end of the scale and multibacillary leprosy at the high end. The bacillus attacks the nerve's Schwann Cells, which causes that part of ... to be any side effects from the drugs and there are very effective. People with paucibacillary leprosy can be cured in 6 months, those with mulibacillary in 12 mo...

  • Word Count: 474
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Leprosy

... since Biblical times, which is characterized by disfiguring skin lesions, peripheral nerve damage, and progressive debilitation. The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and also the eyes, apart from some other structures. Leprosy has afflicted humanity since time beyond measure. It once affected every continent and it has left behind a terrifying ... rejection and exclusion from society. Alternative names Hansen's disease Causes Leprosy is caused by the organism Mycobacterium leprae. It is a difficult disease to transmit and has a...

  • Word Count: 906
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Leprosy

... transdermal spreading has not be made a fact but is currently being tested on monkeys (poor monkeys!). It is believed that Leprosy was to have originated on the Asian continent a long time before Christ. On the continent the disease remained somewhat dormant due to the fact that in the era B.C., people lived in small villages that were somewhat isolated. Over time though, these small villages merged with other ... . Some cases in this group never leave this category, but other sometimes transform into the lepromatous type. Last but not least, there is the lepromatous type, which is the w...

  • Word Count: 1799
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. The Healing of Naaman

... and eager to obey, he believed in what the girl said and had faith that he would be cleansed. To better understand Naaman's actions it is important to understand what a shame it was to have leprosy and how lepers were generally treated in the Bible. In Scripture, leprosy is a portrait of sin and those who carried the disease were shunned from society and sent to live ... in the outskirts of town. Naaman was willing to try anything to rid himself of his shame. So Naaman ... set off to Israel with a letter from King Aram to the king of Israel and gold and silver ... ...

  • Word Count: 1703
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Story Of Honor

... and dishonoring them. When the disease hit the town of Tarumi, it was devastating to the little town. Because the town was a holiday resort when it hit, it was twice as bad for people to have it. The villagers were thought of as dishonoring their families when contracting the disease. "The disease chose randomly, infecting our young and old Some of those who suffering from the disease quickly left the village, while others ... ended their lives, hoping not to dishonor their families.""-Matsu when talking about the disease Matsu is the loner type in the book. He deals with his honor as ....

  • Word Count: 825
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Charles Strickland - The Moon and Sixpence

... get a grip on him and it gave him a freedom which was an outrage. The only aim of Stickland's life was to create beauty. Not long before his terrible death of leprosy, far from his native land, on the remote island of Tahiti, Strickland realised his lifelong dream. The pictures on the walls of his dilapidated house were his masterpiece. In them Strickland had finally put ... the whole expression of himself. W. S. Maugham tries to be impartial to his characters. They are ... my work. Because women can do nothing except love, they've given it a ridiculous importance. They want to persuad...

  • Word Count: 6573
  • Approx Pages: 26
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Overview of the Columbian Exchange

... that it started in the island now known as Espanola. Columbus brought it back along with other things. There are many other theories as how the disease originated. In pre-Columbian times in the Old World, syphilis was described, sometimes, as leprosy, scabies, and other diseases. Different countries also had different names such as the French Disease, Naples, Bordeaux, German Disease, Polish Disease, European Pustules, the Franks, and so on ... . Some other diseases included the smallpox, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, chicken pox, bubonic plague, scarlet ... ...

  • Word Count: 1436
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography

8. The Chocolate War

... - Page 13-" wild red hair" " his eyes gentle with compassion." " until I get on the ball." Page 14-"He moved with a subtle rhythm- "Obie smiled in delicious malice." "The wind rose kicking puffs of dust from the football field" " peeling paint like leprosy." "The shadows of the goal posts sprawled on the field- Page 15-" as if he were lowering a coffin lid" Page 16-"His voice was ... must have been, although he didn't act it. He simply said that obviously the students were infected with a disease. But in order to cure this disease the cause must be known, and they both knew what the caus...

  • Word Count: 12087
  • Approx Pages: 48
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Power of Love: A Critical Analysis

... should die while still the owner of the bottle, he will burn in hell for eternity. The holder has the right to sell the bottle but it must always be sold for less than what was paid for it. Keawe first acquires the bottle to build himself a new luxurious home. After selling the bottle, Keawe falls in love with Kokua and discovers he has leprosy. " " But what wrong ... have I done, what sin lies upon my soul Kokua, the soul ensnarer! Kokua, the light of my life! Her may I never wed, her may I look upon ... !""(60). He knows that in order for her to love and marry him, he must relieve him...

  • Word Count: 657
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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