Global Leprosy Status in 2020: Still Losing Touch

作者：Carlos Franco‐Paredes, Griselda Montes de Oca Sánchez, Cassandra White · 发表于：Annals of the Academy of Medicine Singapore · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.47102/annals-acadmedsg.2019252 · 被引用次数：295 · 研究领域：Leprosy Research and Treatment、Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis、Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, is one of the oldest diseases that has afflicted humanity.It has been described in ancient Egyptian and Indian texts dating 600 BCE. 1 Additionally, the molecular fingerprint of Mycobacterium leprae-the major aetiologic agent of leprosy-has been identified in bioarchaeological records.1,2 Recent comparative genomic and phylogeographic analysis of Mycobacterium leprae has linked its molecular epidemiology to social historical events, suggesting that the global spread of leprosy is associated with migration of humans. 2 For example, leprosy arrived to the Americas with West African populations entering the New World via the transatlantic slave trade.Subsequent waves of European migration into the Americas were responsible for later introductions of Mycobacterium leprae. 2 In Europe, improvements in social conditions in the second half of the 16 th Century led to a substantial reduction of leprosy as genomic comparisons of ancient and modern strains of Mycobacterium leprae demonstrate remarkable similarity. 2 Today, the clustering of cases of leprosy mainly occurs among individuals living in resource-poor settings with favourable ecological niches for Mycobacterium leprae to thrive.3 In 1954, the French philanthropist, Raoul Follereau, established World Leprosy Day to be observed on the last Sunday of January. 4 In India, World Leprosy Day is observed on 30 January-coinciding with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's death on the same day ...