{"id":14075,"date":"2020-03-10T09:52:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T09:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=14075"},"modified":"2021-05-06T13:43:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T13:43:46","slug":"14-frequent-causes-of-leprosy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/14-frequent-causes-of-leprosy\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Frequent Causes of Leprosy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Leprosy is a far more common health condition than people might think. Even though you might have only read the word “leprosy” once or twice before and thought of it as an ancient condition that might have affected people thousands of years ago, the truth is that leprosy is still a very real condition – and both infectious and non-infectious causes of leprosy are diagnosed every year. 
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How common is leprosy? There were 208 619 cases of leprosy diagnosed worldwide in the year 2018 according to statistics – and this is a much higher number than was found in the year’s survey before this.
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You are at risk for leprosy if you come into contact with a carrier, a person already infected or with medical waste or bodily fluids from someone who was. Other factors might increase your risk, and showing symptoms could take years.
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Here are 14 frequent causes of leprosy that you should know about.
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1. Genetics Increases Risk<\/strong>
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Even though cases of leprosy are caused by being infected with either one of two types of bacteria which causes it, there are further factors other than exposure which can put you at further risk of leprosy<\/a>. Some research out there shows that your genetics might have something to do with your likelihood to develop symptoms of leprosy in the case of exposure.
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How would you know? 
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See your doctor for genetic testing: A test can tell you a breakdown of your family’s medical history without having to ask anyone any awkward questions about you or your family’s health.
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Genetic testing can tell you a lot, including which diseases you are more at risk for developing. If leprosy shows up on this list and you might be traveling to high-risk areas (areas where cases are commonly diagnosed), you’ll have to check in with a medical professional and be very conscious of the potential infection risk.
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2. Direct Bacterial Infection<\/strong>
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If you are exposed to someone who has leprosy, it’s not definitive to say that you are going to have contracted it from this one-time exposure to the condition: Direct exposure doesn’t mean you will have it yourself, but it can mean that you are more at risk of showing symptoms or now being a carrier for the condition – and with most cases of leprosy, the longer you are exposed to the condition, the higher your potential risk of getting sick.
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Should you be exposed to someone with leprosy (or their bodily fluids which carry the infection) over the long-term, your risk of developing leprosy yourself is greatly increased. 
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Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which you might carry for as much as ten years without showing symptoms if you are directly exposed through any of the means mentioned here.
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In order to reduce your risk, take the necessary precautions in the event of exposure (or possible exposure) to make sure you don’t have contact with anything that could carry the condition, like lesions <\/a>or fluid droplets.
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3. Contact with a Leprosy Carrier<\/strong>
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Contact with a leprosy carrier is hard to spot, although is one of the most common causes of leprosy in high-risk areas – especially if the exposure is repeated, or if the exposure is long-term. This means that you are exposed to the bacteria <\/a>that causes leprosy directly – and you could start to show symptoms of leprosy yourself, or remain a carrier and potentially spread the condition to others.
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Leprosy is a condition that can take as much as five years or up to show symptoms after exposure; this means that travel to any kind of high-risk area for leprosy where cases have been diagnosed or working in any high-risk environments where there are leprosy cases puts you at risk – and means that you should get tested even without symptoms showing up.
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From exposure to symptoms can take a very long time, and not all carriers of the bacteria will show symptoms of having it themselves: This makes leprosy a difficult condition – and can lead to people seeing a higher rate of diagnosed cases if we aren’t careful now.
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4. Contact with Someone Infected<\/strong>
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Carriers aren’t the only way in which you can pick up leprosy: The likelihood of contracting leprosy is greatly increased if you come into contact with someone who has an active infection right now. This will usually mean someone who is already showing the worst symptoms of active infection – which can include lesions, swelling<\/a>, inflammation and a severely compromised system.
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An active leprosy infection is often contagious: If you come into contact with any fluid droplets or infected medical material that comes from someone who has leprosy, it’s likely that you might get it yourself – and because it can take years for someone to show active symptoms of having contracted leprosy, it might mean you should have yourself tested immediately in the case of having been through high-risk areas.
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Travel to places designated as high-risk by health authorities means that you should take more precautions while you are there, and get tested for any conditions that go with this high-risk area upon your return.
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5. Contact with Bodily Fluids<\/strong>
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If you have traveled to a high-risk area for leprosy infection where cases are currently being diagnosed or treated, or you find yourself in a high-risk environment working with active leprosy infection (such as a hospital) will be at a higher risk for developing leprosy – and it could be a good idea for anyone described by these situations to have themselves tested for leprosy on a regular basis.
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It’s not just simple contact with active infections or carriers that spread leprosy infections from one person to the next: Actually, it’s contact with their bodily fluids – such as droplets of spit – which can carry an active infection <\/a>from one person to the next.
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Contact with infected bodily fluids almost certainly means that you expose yourself directly to the condition: Thus, when exposed to someone who might have leprosy (or for that matter, the flu), remember that everything they might have been close to also becomes an infection risk – and if you’re near it, then you might become infected yourself.
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6. Immunity-Compromising Conditions<\/strong>
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Conditions that compromise immunity <\/a>are ones that mean you will get sick easier than the average person around you which has a stronger immune system – one that’s more prepared to fight off any infections and illnesses that it might encounter.\u00a0
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While they might not be able to “give” you a leprosy infection, conditions that compromise the immune system will increase your chances of being able to get it in the case of exposure – and might mean that you are much harder hit by the same infection.
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If your immune system is at a low, be careful when traveling to high-risk areas for any type of infection or health condition, whether we’re talking about something like cholera, coronavirus or leprosy. 
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A lowered immune system puts you at an increased risk of contracting any number of things where others around you might not. Gloves, masks and hand sanitizer are some of the most common ways in which immunity-compromised people can keep themselves safe when traveling.
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7. The Illegal Pet Trade<\/strong>
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The illegal pet and animal trade is a multimillion-dollar worldwide black market that sees millions of animals illegally transported and sold: It happens in neighborhoods that you could never imagine, and it costs the legal animal trade thousands every year – in addition, the lives of many animals and people are sacrificed through keeping this industry alive.
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You might have encountered it online, you might have only seen it on the news – but what most people don’t realize is that the illegal pet and animal trade affects them in ways they could never have imagined. 
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It’s thought that the pangolin (and subsequently, its illegal buying and selling on the black market) has a lot to do with the spreading of the coronavirus <\/a>infection through the rest of the world – and this should illustrate what could happen.\u00a0
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Leprosy can be carried by creatures other than humans, including monkeys and chimps: These are commonly illegally traded, bought and sold and it can increase the risk.
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8. Undiagnosed Leprosy Infections Which Spread<\/strong>
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One of the single most important things it’s advised for you to do if you think that you have a leprosy infection is to see your doctor and have yourself tested. 
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Even if you are not showing symptoms, you might have picked up the condition through recent exposure to someone who had it, and it might take months to years before you show symptoms in the first place.
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Undiagnosed and untreated infections are some of the most common causes for leprosy there are: The same can be said for many other conditions, including tuberculosis <\/a>and the flu. If you don’t know you have it, then you don’t know you should be treating it – and here lies the real danger of the condition.
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It takes a simple test after you’ve been to a high-risk area. Don’t compromise when it comes to your health. Even if you don’t show symptoms yet, a risk should mean that you have yourself tested.
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9. The Illegal Food Trade<\/strong>
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Animals aren’t just illegally bought, traded and sold on the international black market for the purpose of making them exotic pets in homes, pet stores, and zoos: Sometimes the illegal animal market expands to the buying, selling and keeping of animals for food – and the number of animals considered delicacies on an international scale are vast.
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Some of these animals are carriers for the disease, and often transported and processed in unsanitary conditions: This increases the rate of infections and bacteria <\/a>going along with the illegal animal trade – and anything these animals might carry could “jump” to humans, either through contact with diseased animals or through eating the meat thereof.
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Like the illegal trading of the pangolin might have likely helped along with the spread of the coronavirus, the illegal chimp and monkey trade might help to fuel the rate of leprosy infections further. Unfortunately, the only way to stop the consequences is to stop the animal trade itself.
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10. Improper Disposal of Medical Waste<\/strong>
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The improper disposal of medical waste that might be infected is a potential hotbed of infections: Anything from tuberculosis through to leprosy can be spread in this way – and all it takes is medical waste that makes its way to somewhere it’s not supposed to be. 
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A tissue lying in a hospital means a potential biohazard <\/a>lying around – and the same is true if you find this, which is technically medical waste, lying on the street.
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Most infections can’t survive for long outside the body, but this isn’t the point: Recent contact with droplets or anything these infected droplets were near or on could still mean that you are at risk of picking up the infection when coming near it. 
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Hospitals have set regulations for the disposal (and usually incineration) of medical waste like used gloves and tissues: Follow these, especially in the medical industry, and especially at home.
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11. Long-Term Contact with Infected<\/strong>
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Contact with someone who has leprosy won’t automatically mean that you are going to contract the condition, but recent contact with someone who has an active “wet leprosy” infection together with lesions means that you are far more at risk – particularly if you have had recent direct contact with these lesions or relevant infected bodily fluids<\/a>.
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Exposure over the long-term can also make it more likely that you will get leprosy yourself: By creating “leprosy colonies” in olden times, people might actually have made the problem worse – especially by sticking infectious and non-infectious leprosy sufferers together in the same groups, allowing one to infect the other with a different strain of the condition entirely.
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Long-term contact is often seen in hospital settings: Working with patients who might have it for an extended period of time. It drastically increases your chances of getting it, and it’s one of the things to see your doctor for on a regular basis. Leprosy tests aren’t invasive, and tests are essential if you work in an area with a high infection rate.
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12. Nine-Banded Armadillos<\/strong>
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Leprosy is commonly spread from contact between one infected person and another, usually with the infected person showing active signs of infection that includes lesions and the expulsion of fluid from these sores and lesions: Together with this, leprosy is commonly spread through direct contact with any infected bodily fluids, like spit droplets<\/a>.
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It’s important to remember that there are other ways in which leprosy can spread: From one human to another is one of the most common ways, but this doesn’t mean that it’s the only one. 
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Several different types of animals are considered a potential risk for leprosy: One of these includes the nine-banded armadillo, commonly found in desert-like areas – and also commonly kept as pets in some parts of the world.
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Armadillos don’t, of course, have to show the same human-like leprosy symptoms in order to be carriers: Contact with an infected animal highly increases your risk. 
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Again, see your doctor.
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13. Monkeys<\/strong>
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Other than nine-banded armadillos that might carry the leprosy bacteria without manifesting symptoms themselves, there are other animals from which leprosy might be transferred – either to other animals or to humans who have had recent contact with them while they are in the most active stages of the infection, manifesting with symptoms like sores, boils<\/a>, and lesions.
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Monkeys are one of the most common primates who might carry leprosy: One infected monkey can live undiagnosed and untreated in a colony for years, potentially putting everyone they might encounter at risk. 
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The illegal animal pet and food trade have helped the spread of conditions like leprosy, and the same is true for a lack of animal care in remote areas: 
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Funding is needed for animal rights organizations who are able to spot monkeys and other primates who show symptoms of leprosy and accordingly treat their conditions.
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If not, we might not even see the risk factors, and undiagnosed infections are allowed to continue.
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14. Chimpanzees<\/strong>
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Monkeys aren’t the only animals who can be considered a frequent carrier for conditions like tuberculosis or leprosy; Sometimes chimpanzees, being primates <\/a>themselves, might also carry the condition and spread it to either other carrier animals or through to humans who have had direct contact with them.
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What this means in colonies is that there should be a regular check of wild colonies by trained veterinarians should any cases of leprosy or other infections be reported. This helps to keep the wild population under control (and subsequently in better health). 
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Other than this, stopping the illegal animal trade both for food and pets can help to stop leprosy from spreading under these groups, where they are illegally moved from one part to another with active infections and other diseases that might spread to other animals (or end up spreading directly to humans).
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If you work with animals and suspect that you have been exposed to something the animals might have crossed over to you, see a doctor as soon as possible (and of course, inform the supervisor that something might be up!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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