It has been with us since ancient times. Its very name strikes fear in the hearts of men and women everywhere. That disease is leprosy – a mutilating and incurable illness.

Hansen’s disease is the polite term for leprosy which is caused by mycobacterium leprae, bacteria closely related to the tuberculosis bacteria.

Leprosy got its formal name from a Norwegian physician who first identified the infecting organism in the 19th century. The disease is believed to be acquired during childhood by prolonged contact with the bacteria. This enters the body through a break in the skin or through the nose or throat.

There are two types: nodular (lepomatous) and neural (tuberculoid), and it may take years before the symptoms are first noticed. Large red patches on the skin are early signs of infection.

“In the nodular form of the disease, the reddish swellings which form on the face begin to harden and become painful. As they spread, they blend into areas of insensitivity. If untreated, the ears, nose, forearms and thighs are affected; the face becomes puffy and the eyes seem to sink into the swollen tissue surrounding them. The tongue, pharynx and larynx ulcerate, and if healing does occur, the tissue may remain severely scarred,” according to the late Dr. Morris Fishbein in his “Popular Illustrated Medical Encyclopedia.”

“In the neural type of Hansen’s disease, large parts of the body surface become insensitive to pain, muscles begin to waste away which sometimes result in contrac