Dermatology in Infectious Diseases
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Malaria and the skin (For professionals)
Sunday, August 8th, 2010Malaria is a common infection caused by a unicellular organism called a Protist. It is transmitted by a mosquito called Anopheles. After a period of between two weeks and several months (occasionally years) spent in the liver, the malaria parasites multiply within red blood cells, causing symptoms that appear cyclically. Symptoms include fever, and headache. […]
Influenza (flu) and the skin (For professionals)
Saturday, August 7th, 2010Influenza (flu) is an ubiquitous infection caused by a RNA virus. Symptoms of the disease include sore throat, fever, cough, chills, myalgia, headache, asthenia (fatigue), general discomfort. Influenza can evolve into pneumonia, which can cause death. There is a infinite variety of different genotypes. Two proteins on the viral surface called Haemagglutinin (H) and Neuraminidase […]
Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) – Treatment (For professionals)
Friday, June 11th, 2010I. Anti-leprosy treatments Modern treatment for leprosy was introduced in 1941 when dapsone and its derivatives were used. Prior to that, the segregation of patients in a leprosarium by law was intended to prevent the spread of leprosy to the community. With effective chemotherapy, leprosy is curable today and treatment is undertaken by the general […]
Hansen’ Disease (Leprosy) – Complications (For Professionals)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010The importance of leprosy lies in its ability to cause permanent disabilities from damage to nerves and eyes. Nerve damage can be due to granulomatous lesions that result in fibrosis, during reactions when severe inflammation results in nerve destruction and from ischaemia caused by pressure on the vasa nervosa. . The residual nerve deficit that […]
Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) – Diagnostic tests (For professionals)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Histological examination of the skin lesion and nerve for the typical histological changes and the presence of acid-fast bacilli is required for the definitive diagnosis of leprosy. All cases of leprosy should preferably be confirmed histologically as labeling a person with leprosy carries with it dire social and medical implications. Slit skin smear to detect […]
Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) – Clinical features (For professionals)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Leprosy primarily affects the skin and nerves of humans. The lesions may be remarkably asymptomatic even after years of existence. However, some patients develop reactions resulting in painful cutaneous lesions accompanied by fever, malaise and other symptoms. Most frequently the first signs develop on the skin, even though the nerve is always involved simultaneously. In […]
Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) – The disease and its classification (For professionals)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010The type of disease developed is partially linked to the HLA genes: HLA DR2 and HLA DR3 predispose to tuberculoid disease and HLA–Mt1 to lepromatous disease. Environmental factors such as poor nutrition and poor sanitation play a role through altered immunity in a yet ill-understood mechanism. Human disease results from formation of granulomas in the […]
Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy): Etiology: Mycobacterium leprae and its transmission (For Professionals)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Mycobacterium leprae is the cause of leprosy – the organism being first discovered by Armauer Hansen in 1873. The infected human being is considered to be the only source of infection. Although 4% of the nine-banded armadillo in the USA have naturally acquired leprosy-like disease, only a handful of the spread from the armadillo to […]
Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) – Introduction (For professionals)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Leprosy has struck fear into human beings for thousands of years. Since ancient times, leprosy has been regarded as a highly contagious, mutilating and incurable disease and this has led to an intense negative reaction from the community – many of whom dread the people afflicted with leprosy more than the disease itself. However, with […]
