Treatment for leprosy can take up to 2 years, says a doctor. In what situations should you go to the hospital immediately / The first two cases of leprosy, confirmed in Romania after more than 4 decades
Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy Photo: NOBEASTSOFIERCE / Sciencephoto / Profimedia
The manager of the Hospital for Infectious Diseases “St. Parascheva” Iași, doctor Florin Roșu, states that the treatment for leprosy is done through a combination of antibiotics and can last up to two years, and a few days after the start of the administration of the drugs, the patient is no longer contagious.
- In Romania, the first two cases of leprosy in the last 44 years have been confirmed, in two professional masseuses from Asia who are employed at a SPA salon in Cluj-Napoca.
The second case of leprosy confirmed in Romania after 44 years. What specialists say about the risk of disease transmission
“The treatment consists in administering a combination of antibiotics for a longer period of time, from a few months to 2 years. After a few days of starting the antibiotic treatment, the person is no longer contagious,” infectious disease doctor Florin Roșu told Agerpres on Friday.
How leprosy is transmitted / “The current situation is not one of risk to the population”
He says that the diagnosis of leprosy confirmed in Cluj does not raise public health problems because the transmission of the disease is extremely difficult:
“This infectious disease, leprosy or Hansen's disease, is a very rare one, and in order to be transmitted, it is necessary for a healthy person to be in contact with a sick one for a very long period of time. Infection can occur when a healthy person comes into contact with skin lesions or Flugge droplets removed by coughing or sneezing of an infected person (…) “Prolonged close contact with infected patients who are not under treatment should be avoided.”
Leprosy is not transmitted by:
• handshake,
• hug,
• journeys in public transport,
• short proximity,
• use of common spaces.
According to the doctor, the incubation period for leprosy is several years.
How leprosy manifests itself and when to go to the doctor
The infectious disease doctor says that the main manifestation is represented by “the appearance of lesions in the form of nodules on the skin, depending on the form of the disease – lepromatous or tuberculoid”. The skin lesions are initially reduced in size and light in color, so that later, with the progression of the disease, they progressively expand and produce “mutilating lesions, with the possibility of even ulcerative lesions.” The incubation period in this disease is very long, for several years, Dr. Roșu explained.
The doctor emphasizes that, detected in time, leprosy can be treated from the first symptoms. The disease is curable, he says, and recommends that those with serious skin lesions that persist for more than 24 hours go to the hospital for diagnosis.
