Hansen's Disease

[Guest greatness]

One of my friends is diagnosed with Hansen's disease. It is not sexually transmitted and isn't highly contagious. He has notified his condition to his immediate family members. Although it is not a STD he feels obliged to notify a couple of escorts he had close prolonged contact with for a couple of years just as a precaution. I advised him it might be unnecessary since it's not sexually transmitted but he thinks otherwise. I admire that he cares for the well being of his escorts and being upfront about his medical conditions. Hansen's disease is treatable and once you are on antibiotics it's not contagious. I gave him a big hug.

[+ Charlie]

Hansen's disease is now the official name for what used to be called leprosy, which is noticeably disfiguring. It is infectious, but it is hard to spread it, and it is not spread through sexual activity; however, no one knew that for thousands of years, so lepers were often forcibly isolated from the rest of society. As you mentioned, it can now be successfully treated and won't be contagious once the patient is on antibiotics. I think you were right to tell him he didn't have to inform his sexual contacts, who might be unnecessarily freaked out; if he does tell them, he should do it with careful, calm preparation, just as I hope he would if it were an STD. Keep on hugging your friend--he'll probably need it.

[happyguy2]

While we have all heard of leprosy, I had never heard of Hansen's disease. Once treatment starts, do the deformities get corrected? I am thinking here of those many people we see on those fundraising shows who have leprosy and are deformed.

[Lookin]

A friend's brother has it in Brazil. I understand that the damage that's been done doesn't usually get reversed, although he may be able to rebuild some lost function through physical therapy.

 

My friend's mother got it too. She and his brother live together in the same house, and she probably got it from him after many years of close contact. She didn't have any symptoms. She'll follow the same two-year course of treatment as her son, and will be good as new.

 

Forty-some years ago, in India, I visited what they called a leper colony. They had their own pill manufacturing equipment and sold the drugs throughout India. The children who didn't have the disease lived in a separate compound near where their parents lived, but not in the same house. They would be with their parents every day, but not all day, and would sleep in the children's compound at night. That kept them well. We've learned so much since then, and now those families would all be together.

 

Greatness, I think the legend of the disease may be worse than its reality. Your friend's outlook may improve as he learns more about it. It's good he has you by his side.

[Guest Merlin]

I think many of us would be upset if we learned that an escort failed to disclose that he has Hansen's disease. How can anyone say that it is contagious but not through close contact?

[Diverdan]

Greatness,

Thanks for this post. However, I must agree with Merlin2, that full disclosure is the order of the day. We don't have the privledge of keeping this from anyone with whom we have close contact, and I would classify an escort as having had "close contact". We owe it to friends and companions alike to let them know the situation and advise them to contact their own personal physician. I have not kept up with the treatments, but it may be that a physician would advise a prophylactic course of antibiotics just in case. It is equally important for your friend to have friends like you and others who will continue to give him "big hugs" and maybe more too. Hansen's disease is treatable and if diagnosed early will not have any of the complications that were part of the mystery and "shame" that led to the colonies in our fairly recent past.

DD

[bcohen7719]

I'd research more information. If relying on the internet, there are a few trusted sites like "WebMD": http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/leprosy-10651

 

This is a communicable disease, so saying that it is not sexually transmittable depends on how sexual behavior is defined. If sex includes kissing, I'd look into whether the bacteria can be transmitted through respiratory droplets through kissing, or whether the droplets have to be airborne. The empathy is most commendable, but does your friend intend to remain abstinent until he is cured, unless he is already cured? It would seem that his physician (hopefully, non-homophobic) should be consulted in regard to whether or not to tell other sexual contacts, since it is possible that early drug treatment may be extremely beneficial.

This doesn't sound like a tragedy, but it would be a tragedy to prevent any possible pitfalls for others without digging deeper into the situation.

 

BC

[adriano46]

This is - as often happens here - a very informative post, and thanks go to GREATNESS for bringing it to all our attention.

 

Hansen's Disease for most means little to many in the general population of the US (some my think it is more a nervous disorder), aside from Hawaii, where they had Molokoi as an island for lepers, but for those of us here (and we are quite a few) who have lived or worked overseas, a good number of us have seen (and perhaps been exposed to) leprosy. It is true that it is not "contagious" from simple contact, especially when usual hygiene is observed. I often met lepers in my younger years working in exotic places, and even was known not to be afraid to extend a hand and touch them, even hug them.

 

The disfigurments are permanent, sadly; the sooner the prophylaxis is begun the better.

 

I have mixed feelings on the full disclosure question here -- most young excorts in their 20' something years (or higher??) would freak out to hear that a client they met has Hansen's Disease, especially if they only have a superficial knowledge of the disease, its origins, and the possibility of contagion. Positively, most escorts have a greater encyclopediacal (sp??) knowledge of a cornocopia of STDs and other diseases than most here (which is admirable), but Hansen's Disease is not in this list.

 

GREATNESS, much might depend on the age of your friend, the origins of his own contagion, and what "kind" of contact he had with others. I too have some doubts (on the side of caution) if heavy kissing (exchange of saliva) was involved as well as some less safe practices such as rimming etc..., but would leave that totally in the hands of a contagiuous disease specialist. Has your friend spoken candidly to a physician on this? That might help.

[Guest greatness]

Thank you for your concern and advice. I will look into it.

[bcohen7719]

See if you can follow this link to the <emedicine> site. If not successful,

create a free account with them and log in. I also copied the "transmission" section

below. This is a professional medical website, not "pop" information. I hope this helps.

 

BC

 

link:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1104977-overview

 

transmission:

Causes

 

Leprosy is caused by M leprae, an obligate intracellular, acid-fast, gram-positive bacillus.

 

* Most persons are immune to leprosy. Subclinical disease is common in endemic areas, and the infection progresses to clinical disease in only a select few.

o Exposure to the nasal discharge of individuals who remain untreated for years is thought to be the main cause of infection. Transmission is not completely understood.

o In addition to exposure to respiratory secretions, exposure to insect vectors and infected soil has been suspected as a possible mode of transmission.

o In endemic countries, household contacts of patients are at increased risk for contracting leprosy. The relative risk is 8-10 times for lepromatous leprosy and 2-4 times for tuberculoid leprosy. In nonendemic countries, household contacts rarely acquire the disease.

o HIV infection is not a risk factor for acquiring leprosy, nor does it increase the clinical symptoms or virulence of leprosy. However, latent cases of leprosy infections may emerge as part of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after starting highly active antiretroviral therapy.16,17

o One report describes 2 cases of leprosy developing after treatment with infliximab.18 Both patients developed type I reversal reactions after stopping the TNF-alpha inhibitor. Another patient developed a type I reversal reaction after stopping adalimumab therapy, despite no prior diagnosis of leprosy.19

o Several cases of tattoo inoculation leprosy have been reported, most in India.20

o Leprosy has been reported in conjunction with visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar).

[Guest greatness]

My friend has notified everyone about his condition including people at work and escorts involved. He is not infectious any more and he only has a couple of lesions on his legs so as long as he doesn't wear shorts I don't think anybody will notice it. He had a good doctor and the doctor started the treatment immediately, which helped a lot. I have been friends with him for a decade and I took care of him whenever he was sick. Although I have been exposed to his coughs and nasal droplets numerous times, I'm fine. It is very touching to see how much he is loved by people around him. He has a lot of true friends. As long as we have genuine love we can overcome any disease. I also appreciate the advanced science and technology!

[josephga]

Until you created this thread id actually never heard of this disease

[Guest greatness]

It is pretty rare in the US but I think there are about 30-40 new cases a year in the US too.

 

Until you created this thread id actually never heard of this disease

[Steven_Draker]

Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) Facts:

 

 

Most (95 percent) of the human population is not susceptible to infection with M. leprae, the bacteria that causes Hansen's disease (leprosy).

 

Treatment with standard antibiotic drugs is very effective.

 

Patients become noninfectious after taking only a few doses of medication and need not be isolated from family and friends.

 

Diagnosis in the U.S. is often delayed because health care providers are unaware of Hansen's disease (leprosy) and its symptoms.

 

Early diagnosis and treatment prevents nerve involvement, the hallmark of Hansen's disease (leprosy), and the disability it causes.

 

Without nerve involvement, Hansen's disease (leprosy) is a minor skin disease.

 

166 new cases were reported in the U.S. in 2005 (the most recent year for which data are available).

 

Most (100 or 60%) of these new cases were reported in

California

Louisiana

Massachusetts

New York

Texas

 

source: http://www.hrsa.gov/hansens/