Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Clinical syndromes: general
- Part II Clinical syndromes: head and neck
- Part III Clinical syndromes: eye
- Part IV Clinical syndromes: skin and lymph nodes
- Part V Clinical syndromes: respiratory tract
- Part VI Clinical syndromes: heart and blood vessels
- Part VII Clinical syndromes: gastrointestinal tract, liver, and abdomen
- Part VIII Clinical syndromes: genitourinary tract
- Part IX Clinical syndromes: musculoskeletal system
- Part X Clinical syndromes: neurologic system
- Part XI The susceptible host
- Part XII HIV
- Part XIII Nosocomial infection
- Part XIV Infections related to surgery and trauma
- Part XV Prevention of infection
- Part XVI Travel and recreation
- Part XVII Bioterrorism
- Part XVIII Specific organisms: bacteria
- 123 Actinomycosis
- 124 Anaerobic infections
- 125 Anthrax and other Bacillus species
- 126 Bartonella bacilliformis
- 127 Cat scratch disease and other Bartonella infections
- 128 Bordetella
- 129 Branhamella–Moraxella
- 130 Brucellosis
- 131 Campylobacter
- 132 Clostridium
- 133 Corynebacteria
- 134 Enterobacteriaceae
- 135 Enterococcus
- 136 Erysipelothrix
- 137 HACEK
- 138 Helicobacter pylori
- 139 Gonococcus: Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- 140 Haemophilus
- 141 Legionellosis
- 142 Leprosy
- 143 Meningococcus and miscellaneous neisseriae
- 144 Listeria
- 145 Nocardia
- 146 Pasteurella multocida
- 147 Pneumococcus
- 148 Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Burkholderia
- 149 Rat-bite fevers
- 150 Salmonella
- 151 Staphylococcus
- 152 Streptococcus groups A, B, C, D, and G
- 153 Viridans streptococci
- 154 Poststreptococcal immunologic complications
- 155 Shigella
- 156 Tularemia
- 157 Tuberculosis
- 158 Nontuberculous mycobacteria
- 159 Vibrios
- 160 Yersinia
- 161 Miscellaneous gram-positive organisms
- 162 Miscellaneous gram-negative organisms
- Part XIX Specific organisms: spirochetes
- Part XX Specific organisms: Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
- Part XXI Specific organisms: Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
- Part XXII Specific organisms: fungi
- Part XXIII Specific organisms: viruses
- Part XXIV Specific organisms: parasites
- Part XXV Antimicrobial therapy: general considerations
- Index
- References
142 - Leprosy
from Part XVIII - Specific organisms: bacteria
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2015
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Clinical syndromes: general
- Part II Clinical syndromes: head and neck
- Part III Clinical syndromes: eye
- Part IV Clinical syndromes: skin and lymph nodes
- Part V Clinical syndromes: respiratory tract
- Part VI Clinical syndromes: heart and blood vessels
- Part VII Clinical syndromes: gastrointestinal tract, liver, and abdomen
- Part VIII Clinical syndromes: genitourinary tract
- Part IX Clinical syndromes: musculoskeletal system
- Part X Clinical syndromes: neurologic system
- Part XI The susceptible host
- Part XII HIV
- Part XIII Nosocomial infection
- Part XIV Infections related to surgery and trauma
- Part XV Prevention of infection
- Part XVI Travel and recreation
- Part XVII Bioterrorism
- Part XVIII Specific organisms: bacteria
- 123 Actinomycosis
- 124 Anaerobic infections
- 125 Anthrax and other Bacillus species
- 126 Bartonella bacilliformis
- 127 Cat scratch disease and other Bartonella infections
- 128 Bordetella
- 129 Branhamella–Moraxella
- 130 Brucellosis
- 131 Campylobacter
- 132 Clostridium
- 133 Corynebacteria
- 134 Enterobacteriaceae
- 135 Enterococcus
- 136 Erysipelothrix
- 137 HACEK
- 138 Helicobacter pylori
- 139 Gonococcus: Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- 140 Haemophilus
- 141 Legionellosis
- 142 Leprosy
- 143 Meningococcus and miscellaneous neisseriae
- 144 Listeria
- 145 Nocardia
- 146 Pasteurella multocida
- 147 Pneumococcus
- 148 Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Burkholderia
- 149 Rat-bite fevers
- 150 Salmonella
- 151 Staphylococcus
- 152 Streptococcus groups A, B, C, D, and G
- 153 Viridans streptococci
- 154 Poststreptococcal immunologic complications
- 155 Shigella
- 156 Tularemia
- 157 Tuberculosis
- 158 Nontuberculous mycobacteria
- 159 Vibrios
- 160 Yersinia
- 161 Miscellaneous gram-positive organisms
- 162 Miscellaneous gram-negative organisms
- Part XIX Specific organisms: spirochetes
- Part XX Specific organisms: Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
- Part XXI Specific organisms: Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
- Part XXII Specific organisms: fungi
- Part XXIII Specific organisms: viruses
- Part XXIV Specific organisms: parasites
- Part XXV Antimicrobial therapy: general considerations
- Index
- References
Summary
Epidemiology
Leprosy is an ancient disease that has been the cause of great morbidity and mortality for centuries. A 4000-year-old skeleton with evidence of lepromatous leprosy was found in India, and DNA from the causative agent, Mycobacterium leprae, has been isolated from a Byzantine skeleton from Israel dated to 300–600 AD. Mycobacterium leprae is an unculturable, obligate intracellular, gram-positive, acid-fast bacillus. It multiplies very slowly in the host and grows best at 33°C (91.4°F), which accounts for its predilection for cooler parts of the body such as the skin, testis, anterior segment of the eye, mucous membranes of nasal passages, and ear lobes and extremities.
Leprosy appears to have originated in a single clone in East Africa and then spread to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and by way of the slave trade into West Africa. Phylogenetic studies using medieval European and modern bacterial DNA suggest a European origin of leprosy in the Americas as well as a paleogeographic relationship between Europe and the Middle East. The disease is now endemic in a number of regions, mainly in Asia, Africa, South America, and the Pacific. It is especially prevalent in India and Brazil. India alone accounts for more than 50% of the global leprosy burden of disease. Isolated pockets of disease are found in many parts of the world, and as a consequence of international travel, affected individuals may be encountered in any location. In the United States, infected patients may be found in any state, but most are in California, Hawaii, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. Most cases encountered in the United States are seen in immigrants born in endemic regions.
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- Clinical Infectious Disease , pp. 931 - 934Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015