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Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a chronic infection caused by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae''〔 and ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Initially, infections are without symptoms and typically remain this way from 5 to as long as 20 years.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs101/en/ )〕 Symptoms that develop include granulomas of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes.〔 This may result in a lack of ability to feel pain and thus loss of parts of extremities due to repeated injuries or infection due to unnoticed wounds.〔 Weakness and poor eyesight may also be present.〔 Leprosy is spread between people. It is believed to occur through a cough or contact with fluid from the nose of an infected person. Leprosy occurs more commonly among those living in poverty and is believed to be transmitted by respiratory droplets.〔 Contrary to popular belief, it is not very contagious.〔 The two main types of disease are based on the number of bacteria present: paucibacillary and multibacillary.〔 The two types are differentiated by the number of poorly pigmented, numb skin patches present, with paucibacillary having five or fewer and multibacillary having more than five.〔 The diagnosis is confirmed by finding acid-fast bacilli in a biopsy of the skin or by detecting the DNA using polymerase chain reaction.〔 Leprosy is curable with a treatment known as multidrug therapy (MDT).〔 Treatment for paucibacillary leprosy is with the medications dapsone and rifampicin for six months.〔 Treatment for multibacillary leprosy consists of rifampicin, dapsone, and clofazimine for 12 months.〔 These treatments are provided free of charge by the World Health Organization.〔 A number of other antibiotics may also be used.〔 Globally in 2012, the number of chronic cases of leprosy was 189,000 and the number of new cases was 230,000.〔 The number of chronic cases has decreased from some 5.2 million in the 1980s.〔 Most new cases occur in 16 countries, with India accounting for more than half.〔〔 In the past 20 years, 16 million people worldwide have been cured of leprosy.〔 About 200 cases are reported per year in the United States.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hrsa.gov/hansensdisease/dataandstatistics.html )〕 Leprosy has affected humanity for thousands of years.〔 The disease takes its name from the Latin word ''lepra'', which means "scaly", while the term "Hansen's disease" is named after the physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen. Separating people by placing them in leper colonies still occurs in places such as India, China, and Africa. However, most colonies have closed since leprosy has been determined to not be very contagious.〔 Social stigma has been associated with leprosy for much of history, which continues to be a barrier to self-reporting and early treatment.〔 Some consider the word leper offensive, preferring the phrase "persons affected with leprosy". World Leprosy Day was started in 1954 to draw awareness to those affected by leprosy. ==Signs and symptoms== Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions (light or dark patches) are the primary external sign. If untreated, leprosy can progress and cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes. Contrary to folklore, leprosy does not cause body parts to fall off, although they can become numb or diseased as a result of secondary infections; these occur as a result of the body's defenses being compromised by the primary disease.〔 Secondary infections, in turn, can result in tissue loss causing fingers and toes to become shortened and deformed, as cartilage is absorbed into the body.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leprosy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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