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Leprosy was once feared as a highly contagious and devastating disease, but now we know it doesn’t spread easily and treatment is very effective. However, if left untreated, the nerve damage can result in crippling of hands and feet, paralysis, and blindness. Last Reviewed: August 2, 2023.
Scientists currently think it may happen when a person with Hansen’s disease coughs or sneezes, and a healthy person breathes in the droplets containing the bacteria. Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease.
Most people who develop leprosy have been in long-term contact with an infectious person, which means they live with or near them, or perhaps work with them. It is also possible to be exposed to leprosy through animals and through dirt. Do people with leprosy need to quarantine?
May 18, 2022 · Although it is not highly contagious, leprosy (Hansen's disease) can spread from person to person. Experts don’t fully understand how the disease spreads from one person to another, but the bacterium is likely transmitted through airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Leprosy, also called Hansen’s disease, is a contagious disease. One way it spreads is from person to person. Even so, it’s actually hard to catch. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 95% of humans are immune to the bacteria that cause this disease 1.
Jan 27, 2023 · The bacteria are transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated cases. Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT). Leprosy is reported from all the six WHO Regions; the majority of annual new case detections are from South-East Asia.
Each year, about 150 people in the United States and 250,000 around the world get the illness. In the past, Hansen’s disease was feared as a highly contagious, devastating disease, but now we know that it’s hard to spread and it’s easily treatable once recognized.
