Leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen’s disease is a bacterial disease, and found mainly in Africa and Asia. People with leprosy are mistreated and often get preyed upon. My goal for this essay is to convey researched knowledge about leprosy, and how Africans with this condition are dehumanized.
One to two million people suffers from leprosy. Leprosy is mainly a skin disease but it can affect the nervous system as well. Leprosy multiplies very slowly and takes five years in the incubation period to have any effect on the body. However, symptoms can take as long as twenty years to develop. With and early diagnosis and treatment to the disease is the only way found to cure the disease as a public health concern. In addition, Leprosy is not highly infectious, but when not treated can be very dangerous to the recipient. This disease can be transmitted via droplets, from your nose and mouth, with an untreated case. Official figures show that almost 180,000 people mainly in Africa and Asia were affected in the beginning of 2012. Currently the US has diagnosed over 6,500 cases of leprosy in the Unites States. The main reason for the infection, scientist believe is from armadillos. Africans mainly with this disease are dehumanized and are located away from their colony. Even though curable, discrimination against lepers in Southern Sudan lingers. For these patients, it is the pain of stigma that makes their lives harder, not the disease. (“Last Leper Colonies of Africa”). In addition, even know the Sudan Government does not yet approve it; a few families still take care of their relatives. While South African lepers initially had a choice between joining seclusion and living with their communities, the enactment of the Leprosy and the Repression Act of May 1892 made it mandatory for all lepers to be isolated. Robben Island is created in 1845 and is later used after the act to put lepers in seclusion (“United Nations System”). In addition, the people who joined fellow lepers
Leprosy or Hansen’s disease is a bacterial disease, and found mainly in Africa and Asia. People with leprosy are mistreated and often get preyed upon. My goal for this essay is to convey researched knowledge about leprosy, and how Africans with this condition are dehumanized.
One to two million people suffers from leprosy. Leprosy is mainly a skin disease but it can affect the nervous system as well. Leprosy multiplies very slowly and takes five years in the incubation period to have any effect on the body. However, symptoms can take as long as twenty years to develop. With and early diagnosis and treatment to the disease is the only way found to cure the disease as a public health concern. In addition, Leprosy is not highly infectious, but when not treated can be very dangerous to the recipient. This disease can be transmitted via droplets, from your nose and mouth, with an untreated case. Official figures show that almost 180,000 people mainly in Africa and Asia were affected in the beginning of 2012. Currently the US has diagnosed over 6,500 cases of leprosy in the Unites States. The main reason for the infection, scientist believe is from armadillos. Africans mainly with this disease are dehumanized and are located away from their colony. Even though curable, discrimination against lepers in Southern Sudan lingers. For these patients, it is the pain of stigma that makes their lives harder, not the disease. (“Last Leper Colonies of Africa”). In addition, even know the Sudan Government does not yet approve it; a few families still take care of their relatives. While South African lepers initially had a choice between joining seclusion and living with their communities, the enactment of the Leprosy and the Repression Act of May 1892 made it mandatory for all lepers to be isolated. Robben Island is created in 1845 and is later used after the act to put lepers in seclusion (“United Nations System”). In addition, the people who joined fellow lepers