Why do anti-vaccine folks talk about leprosy (Hansen’s disease) so much?
“LEPROSY. I’m curious why there isn’t a vaccine for leprosy. With all the other bazillion vaccines out there, why not one for leprosy?”
We don’t have anywhere near a bazillion vaccines, but did you know that there actually is a vaccine for leprosy?
“Why aren’t you walking around concerned about leprosy every day? Why aren’t you concerned about someone from another country bringing leprosy into Australia or the US and somehow exposing all of our most vulnerable to this illness? I’ll tell you why. Because there’s no vaccine for leprosy. You are afraid of what we vaccinate for because these illnesses are hyped up all of the time. It’s propaganda. ”
Learn the Risk – Why aren’t we afraid of all diseases?
Don’t expect the leprosy vaccine to be added to our immunization schedule any time soon or to increase your fears about leprosy, as leprosy is not highly contagious and it can be treated, and even cured.
And while there are about 150 to 250 cases in the United States each year, most are in folks who used to live in areas of the world where leprosy is more common. Unlike measles, you aren’t likely to get leprosy at school or daycare or going to Disneyland, although you could get it if you have a pet armadillo.
Leprosy Vaccines
A vaccine against leprosy is important though. As with other diseases, we are seeing multi-drug resistant forms of Mycobacterium leprae, the bacteria that causes leprosy.
The new leprosy vaccine that is being developed will hopefully help to finally eliminate leprosy in parts of the Africa, Asia and Latin America where it is still a problem.
But it isn’t the first leprosy vaccine that we will have had.
Various leprosy vaccines have been developed and tested since the 1980s.
Also, the M. bovis BCG vaccine has been known to provide protection against both Mycobacterium tuberculosis (tuberculosis) and the related Mycobacterium leprae (leprosy) since as early as 1939.
“BCG vaccination is recommended in countries or settings with a high incidence of TB and/or high leprosy burden.”
BCG vaccines: WHO position paper – February 2018
The new leprosy vaccine, a sub-unit vaccine, will hopefully be more effective than previous strategies though, and will work to both prevent and treat leprosy.
Another leprosy vaccine, Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), is being developed and tested in India.
Still, leprosy will never be eradicated, as armadillos serve as an animal reservoir for the Mycobacterium leprae bacteria.
What to Know About Leprosy Vaccines
At least two leprosy vaccines are being developed and tested to help eliminate leprosy from the areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America where it is still a problem.
More on Leprosy Vaccines
- CDC – World Leprosy Day: Bust the Myths, Learn the Facts
- CDC – Leprosy Signs and Symptoms
- A Vaccine For Leprosy
- ICRC ‘anti-leprosy vaccine’.
- BCG vaccines: WHO position paper – February 2018
- Advances and hurdles on the way toward a leprosy vaccine
- LepVax, a defined subunit vaccine that provides effective pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis of M. leprae infection
- India rolls out world’s first leprosy vaccine as fight goes on ‘war footing’
- A promising vaccine against leprosy – Govt of India plans large-scale field – Testing
- Leprosy–in pursuit of a vaccine.
- Leprosy vaccines: Paul Fine and Hazel Dockrell discuss current research trends
- The antipoverty vaccines.
- WHO – Leprosy
- WHO – Global Leprosy Strategy 2016−2020: Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world
- Dr. Jacinto Convit (1913–2014)
- Public Health Heroes: Dr. Jacinto Convit
- Jacinto Convit Garcia
- Infectious Disease Research Institute
- American Leprosy Missions
- Ten failings in global neglected tropical diseases control.
- Primary Multidrug-Resistant Leprosy, United States
- History of the National Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Program
- Both Home and Prison, Leprosy Site May Shut
- Only U.S. leper colony faces uncertain future : Scientific advances, budget cuts could close the Louisiana facility.
Any patient with a positive skin smear must be treated with the MDT regimen for multibacillary leprosy. The regimen for paucibacillary leprosy should never be given to a patient with multibacillary leprosy. Therefore, if the diagnosis in a particular patient is uncertain, treat that patient with the MDT regimen for multibacillary leprosy.
It is always recommended to buy prescribed meds from online or any drug store and there are many online stores on which we can buy meds for Leprosy, mygenericpharmacy is one of them which i have searched.
Antibiotics used during the treatment will kill the bacteria that cause leprosy. But while the treatment can cure the disease and prevent it from getting worse, it does not reverse nerve damage or physical disfiguration that may have occurred before the diagnosis. Thus, it is very important that the disease be diagnosed as early as possible, before any permanent nerve damage occurs.
Nowadays there are too many online stores but all are not reliable, they are selling cheap meds only but result is not concern for them, i am only visiting reputed online store like mygenericpharmacy.
Leprosy is a disease mainly caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, which causes damage to the skin and the peripheral nervous system. The disease develops slowly (from six months to 40 years) and results in skin lesions and deformities, most often affecting the cooler places on the body (for example, eyes, nose, earlobes, hands, feet, and testicles). The skin lesions and deformities can be very disfiguring and are the reason that historically people considered infected individuals outcasts in many cultures. Although human-to-human transmission is the primary source of infection, three other species can carry and (rarely) transfer M. leprae to humans: chimpanzees, mangabey monkeys, and nine-banded armadillos. The disease is termed a chronic granulomatous disease, similar to tuberculosis, because it produces inflammatory nodules (granulomas) in the skin and peripheral nerves over time.
It is always recommended to buy prescribed meds for such problems and buy only from reputed online stores like mygenericpharmacy
Leprosy is a curable disease, having been eliminated from many countries, including India. This has been possible due to the wide availability of effective and safe drugs. Treatment of leprosy has undergone considerable changes over decades, from chaulmoogra oil in 1915 to dapsone monotherapy in 1946, then eventually to multidrug therapy (MDT) in 1982. In the last two decades, reports of resistance to all first-line drugs have appeared in the literature, with the need to conduct clinical trials using newer but highly bactericidal drugs and their combinations against Mycobacterium leprae. Mygenericpharmacy offering best treatment consultancy for Leprosy.