Leprosy: Diseases In American History

1052 Words5 Pages
Taylor Hugelmeyer Diseases In American History Paper 1: Leprosy 10/4/15 The Life of Leprosy From the beginning of time, there have been some sort of species of life on the earth, some forms evolved, some forms went extinct, and others still exist to this day. Just like the species, diseases have always been on the earth as well, which also evolve, go extinct, and still exist to this day. The disease, in particular that interested me most, was Leprosy. Leprosy, which is also known as Hansen’s Disease, named after the Norwegian Dr. Armauer Hansen, who was the first to see the leprosy germ under a microscope. This discovery was made in 1873, which is the earliest known discovery of leprosy (germ). (1) Slow growing bacteria called “Mycobacterium…show more content…
It could have gone untreated because the patients could not afford the treatment. Present day, patients infected are just given a course of antibiotics and the disease is essentially wiped away in a few short days. It was most pervasive and deadly in North America in the Middle Ages. Environmental dimensions of leprosy were considered to have a major impact to the psyche of those infected. Not only was this a disease that was treated (back in the day) with isolation and embarrassment, it was also a painful, tragic looking, incredibly awful disease. This disease has evolved with humans, and has not become extinct, but can be treated much more simply. The same slow growing germ founded in 1873, still exists to this day, and although it rarely strikes, it occasionally can rear its ugly head. The pre-bacteriological studies reflection on the disease leprosy was that this disease was a terrifying, contagious and unsettlingly disgusting. Now with medical technology, and the use of advanced science presently, we now know that this disease can be simply treated with MDTs, and it’s not necessary to isolate and embarrass the

More about Leprosy: Diseases In American History

Open Document