●     Borderline lepromatous leprosy: Characterized by numerous lesions, featuring flat lesions, raised bumps, plaques, and nodules. The condition may stay the same, regress, or become another type of leprosy.

●     Lepromatous leprosy: This type of leprosy features numerous lesions with bacteria, hair loss, nerve involvement, limb weakness, and disfigurement. It does not regress.

How Is It Spread?

Leprosy is spread from person to person through a cough or contact with fluid from the nose of someone who is infected with the disease. This condition occurs more commonly among those living in poverty.

While those suffering from leprosy were often isolated in leper colonies (and, in fact, leper colonies still exist in some countries of the world, including India, China and Africa), this disease is not as contagious as other communicable diseases.

Globally, as of 2012, there are about 189,000 chronic cases of leprosy and 230,000 new cases. This number has decreased from more than 5.2 million cases in the 1980s, with a total of about 16 million people worldwide having been cured of the disease in the past 20 years. About 200 cases are reported each year in the United States, mostly in the South, California, Hawaii and U.S. islands.

What Are the Signs of Leprosy?

Many of the early signs of leprosy are subtle and occur over long periods of time (usually years), making it a difficult disease to diagnose in its early stages. Later signs and symptoms are more characteristic and identifiable. Among the symptoms that occur during the progression of the disease:

Numbness and Loss of Temperature Sensation

A gradual feeling of numbness and a loss of temperature sensation are some of the earliest symptoms that patients with leprosy experience. Because these symptoms develop slowly, usually over a period of years, they may go unnoticed for longer than a condition with a sudden onset.