Talk:Leprosy

Does it kill you?

All this is good stuff, but the article says nothing about whether or not this will kill you or often it does kill people, or how long it takes to kill someone. How many survive to live a normal lifespan? Can someone get better on their own? How successful are the various treatments?

I'm not a doctor, so I have no clue. But that is what I came to this article for and was expecting to see. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.243.2.77 (talk) 05:08, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

It needn't mention it, because it's not an issue. Tom W (talk) 19:04, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

Leprosy in India

Numbers are completely off, there are still more than 100,000 infections each year. 122.176.214.163 (talk) 20:39, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

2013 new fast test available

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/health/fast-new-test-could-help-nip-leprosy-in-the-bud.html?pagewanted=all

Did I overlook the initial symptoms of extremity numbness, eye tearing? 68.188.203.251 (talk) 14:34, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

treatment available in Romania

The statement ”Although the forced quarantine or segregation of patients is unnecessary in places where adequate treatments are available, many leper colonies still remain around the world in countries such as” is incorrect for Romania and, I suspect, for a number of the other listed countries as well. The people who still live in Tichilești (the former leper colony in Romania) only do so now because, having lived with leprosy for so long before treatment was available, don't have anything left outside that community. The problem is lack of social integration; the statement implies that leprosy treatment is unavailable in Romania and that patients are unnecessarily isolated, which is false.

http://www.esquire.ro/articole/reportaje/inapoi-la-tichilesti.htm

http://adevarul.ro/news/societate/reportajIn-leprozerie-nu-alege-1_50c614c6596d720091e2d970/index.html

http://www.9am.ro/stiri-revista-presei/Social/19126/Leprozeria-de-la-Tichilesti-cea-mai-deschisa-lume-inchisa.html

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.119.99.124 (talk • contribs)

Merge transmission and Pathophysiology?

The Pathophysiology section appears to me (as a lay reader) to extend the transmission information and make that section redundant.

Also the opening sentence of the Pathophysiology is contradicted by the rest of the information in the paragraph (ie there is not definitive information about how transmission happens)

Is someone with more subject knowledge able to comment please?

Im a teapot (talk) 12:59, 8 August 2013 (UTC)

Clarification Request

This part of the first paragraph is a little unclear to me:

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.[4][5] 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.[4][5][6]

The article is accompanied by photographs of people with stumps where their fingers should be. This seems to confirm the basic idea of the folklore: that leprosy causes its victims to lose parts of their fingers. So how precisely is the folklore incorrect? Is it that the fingers do not "fall off", they shrink? Or is it that the "tissue loss" is not caused by the primary disease?

Currently it reads like the result of several rounds of quibling editing. Could someone with more understanding of the topic please rewrite so as to make it more precise, more informative, and less argumentative?

Chappell (talk) 19 August 2013

(cut from) Signs and symptoms

This is all very interesting (below) but doesn't list the symptoms. It lists a single external sign; but nothing about what the patient experiences during early onset, established disease and later symptoms. This is a very poor article in this regard. (posted by User:Stonelaughter)

Moses as a Leper?

In the section regarding the Torah, it cites an Exodus passage that shows God showing a sign for Moses to use if neccessary, in which his hand would temporarily become full of leprosy. But the article, giving no details about it, almost makes it seem as if Moses himself was a leper. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.9.132.133 (talk) 04:46, 21 December 2013 (UTC) But in the quran it says that Mose put hand in his shirt had came out with no diease — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.98.234.71 (talk) 23:57, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

95% naturally immune

Neither of the sources given seem to support the claim that "95% of people are naturally immune". The sources should either be updated or the claim removed. Edit: Here is a source I found that is relevant http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/199/6/801.full — Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.1.99.253 (talk) 23:08, 8 March 2014 (UTC) 24.50.151.151 (talk) 20:58, 12 January 2015 (UTC) http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/77-78/1/103.full I also take the view that it is not 95% immunity but weakening as demonstrated 'extensive reduction of its genome,' It may well be that we all have leprosy to a underlying extent. I also believe the 'eye tearing' is indicative and a form of cytitis is noted in the article.

United States

Lists symptoms of infection rather than United States specific information, which are not cited and differing from the original symptoms section and endemic area section. First paragraph should be integrated into more appropriate section and symptoms if true moved to proper section.