Leprosy

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Hansen's disease

Symptoms include:

• one or more hypopigmented (lighter than your normal skin color) skin lesions that have decreased sensation to touch, heat, or pain
• skin lesions that do not heal after several weeks to months
• numbness or absent sensation in the hands and arms, or feet and legs
• muscle weakness resulting in signs such as foot drop (the toe drags when the foot is lifted to take a step)

• Lepromin skin test can be used to distinguish lepromatous from tuberculoid leprosy, but is not used for diagnosis.
• Skin scraping examination for acid fast bacteria

Review Date: 10/27/2005
Reviewed By: Daniel Levy, M.D., Ph.D., Infectious Diseases, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.