Life Cycle Of Leprosy Disease And Its Effects .....
Leprosy is caused by a germ Bacillus leprae, but close and prolonged contact seems necessary before a leper infects another person. Usually it is not possible to trace the path of infection, for years may pass before the the first sign of the disease appears.
Symptoms. The first sign in one form of the disease is a red or coppery patch on the skin of the hands or feet or on the face. This gradually thickens gand forms a nodule in the skin. On the face almost the whole skin may be thickened, completely nodules break down, f alterin the features of the patient. Finally the orming large ulcers, often destroying the tissues of the nose or of the fingers and toes.
In the Other form of the disease the nerves of the limbs are attacked. The first signs are pale patches on the skin in which there is no feeling. Gradually the nerves become thickened and large areas of the skin become anaesthetic hneticor lack feeling, and sores form through injuries which cause o Paralysis of limbs is common and adds greatly to the distress of the patient. In some patients both the nodular and the anaesthetic form of the disease are present. A patient in the late stages of the disease is a pathetic sight, with SOITS, paralysis and rotting stumps of fingers and toes. The patient with severe leprosy dies in the end from exhaustion, or from some added disease which he cannot resist in his grossly weakened state.
Leprosy has always been a dreaded disease, and the leper is conscious of this He suffers from a visible disease and he knows the loathing it causes in those who see it. He is one of the untouchables of the ages. He needs understanding and sympathy.
Treatment. Sulphoncs and newer drugs have changed the outlook for leprosy, though there is still no speedy cure. The disease can, however, be arrested. Plastic and orthopaedic surgery can do a great deal to prevent or correct deformity to give it a ready made supply of antibodies. These have not been manu-factured in the body, and are, after a week or two, destroyed or eliminated by the body. They can therefore give the person only temporary protection, although this protection is immediate. A vaccine, on the other hand, does not contain antibody. It is composed of a lot of germs, live or dead, or of some product of germs such as toxin. When injected, these germs or toxin stimulate the body to produce antibodies against them.
This process takes time, so the protection is not immediate; but the antibodies, when they do appear, have been manufactured in the body and therefore stay in the body for a long time, probably for life. One injection of vaccine just stimulates the antibody-producing mechanism and rarelyresults in enough antibody to give protection, but a second injection given a month later stirs the mechanism into active production of antibody, and a third leads to a great outpouring of antibody. This antibody may fall to a low level after the passage of time, but the mechanism remains sensitive and will respond to a similar stimulus even after many years.
The stimulus may be another dose of vaccine, or it may be natural infection with the germ concerned. Thus if a person has had three injections of tetanus vaccine, not tetanus antitoxin, his body will react at once to the introduction of Clostridium tetani in a wound, or to the injection of more tetanus vaccine. In other words he has been actively immunized against tetanus and this gives him protection against the disease for many years, probably for life.
Some vaccines consist of live germs which have been grown in the laboratory in such a way that they no longer cause active disease but still stimulate the production of antibody. Examples are smallpox vaccine and live polio vaccine. Some contain dead germs, for example typhoid vaccine (TAB). Some contain no germs but only their toxins, and these toxins have been altered in the laboratory so that they are no longer toxic, but still provoke antitoxin; these altered toxins are called toxoids.
Examples are tetanus toxoid and diphtheria toxoid (APT or alum-precipitated toxoid). In general, toxoids and live vaccines are better immunizing substances than dead vaccines.
Leprosy is caused by a germ Bacillus leprae, but close and prolonged contact seems necessary before a leper infects another person. Usually it is not possible to trace the path of infection, for years may pass before the the first sign of the disease appears.
Symptoms. The first sign in one form of the disease is a red or coppery patch on the skin of the hands or feet or on the face. This gradually thickens gand forms a nodule in the skin. On the face almost the whole skin may be thickened, completely nodules break down, f alterin the features of the patient. Finally the orming large ulcers, often destroying the tissues of the nose or of the fingers and toes.
In the Other form of the disease the nerves of the limbs are attacked. The first signs are pale patches on the skin in which there is no feeling. Gradually the nerves become thickened and large areas of the skin become anaesthetic hneticor lack feeling, and sores form through injuries which cause o Paralysis of limbs is common and adds greatly to the distress of the patient. In some patients both the nodular and the anaesthetic form of the disease are present. A patient in the late stages of the disease is a pathetic sight, with SOITS, paralysis and rotting stumps of fingers and toes. The patient with severe leprosy dies in the end from exhaustion, or from some added disease which he cannot resist in his grossly weakened state.
Leprosy has always been a dreaded disease, and the leper is conscious of this He suffers from a visible disease and he knows the loathing it causes in those who see it. He is one of the untouchables of the ages. He needs understanding and sympathy.
Treatment. Sulphoncs and newer drugs have changed the outlook for leprosy, though there is still no speedy cure. The disease can, however, be arrested. Plastic and orthopaedic surgery can do a great deal to prevent or correct deformity to give it a ready made supply of antibodies. These have not been manu-factured in the body, and are, after a week or two, destroyed or eliminated by the body. They can therefore give the person only temporary protection, although this protection is immediate. A vaccine, on the other hand, does not contain antibody. It is composed of a lot of germs, live or dead, or of some product of germs such as toxin. When injected, these germs or toxin stimulate the body to produce antibodies against them.
This process takes time, so the protection is not immediate; but the antibodies, when they do appear, have been manufactured in the body and therefore stay in the body for a long time, probably for life. One injection of vaccine just stimulates the antibody-producing mechanism and rarelyresults in enough antibody to give protection, but a second injection given a month later stirs the mechanism into active production of antibody, and a third leads to a great outpouring of antibody. This antibody may fall to a low level after the passage of time, but the mechanism remains sensitive and will respond to a similar stimulus even after many years.
The stimulus may be another dose of vaccine, or it may be natural infection with the germ concerned. Thus if a person has had three injections of tetanus vaccine, not tetanus antitoxin, his body will react at once to the introduction of Clostridium tetani in a wound, or to the injection of more tetanus vaccine. In other words he has been actively immunized against tetanus and this gives him protection against the disease for many years, probably for life.
Some vaccines consist of live germs which have been grown in the laboratory in such a way that they no longer cause active disease but still stimulate the production of antibody. Examples are smallpox vaccine and live polio vaccine. Some contain dead germs, for example typhoid vaccine (TAB). Some contain no germs but only their toxins, and these toxins have been altered in the laboratory so that they are no longer toxic, but still provoke antitoxin; these altered toxins are called toxoids.
Examples are tetanus toxoid and diphtheria toxoid (APT or alum-precipitated toxoid). In general, toxoids and live vaccines are better immunizing substances than dead vaccines.
No comments:
Post a Comment