Hansen’s leprosy – the oldest disease
Dr.Kut | Feb 08, 2010 | Comments 0
Hansen’s disease is considered to be the oldest disease to have affected man in accordance to the Guinness World records. Hansen’s disease or leprosy has seen many changes due to the believes of the people of the ancient world that this was a punishment given to them for something they had done in previous lives or that it was a curse from some demons.
Eventually, with the advancement in religious believes, people suffering from leprosy were considered the preferred ones sent to the world to help God on his mission of liberating mankind. Another reason for their seclusion was that they believed that leprosy was highly contagious.
After the developments of medical sciences, people started to understand the real reasons and causes of leprosy and also it became clear that it was not as contagious as other people believe it to be.
Leprosy is basically an infection caused by a mycobacterium that multiplies very slowly and which affects the skin, nerves and mucus membranes. This parasite does not reproduce by itself because it does not have the genes for survival on its own.
The causes and the method of reproduction of leprosy are unknown; however, it is known that humans are immune to leprosy and that this disease is chronic in nature. Some studies claim that the only way of transmission of the disease is through the respiratory track.
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