What are the characteristics of Mycobacterium leprae?

M. leprae is an intracellular, pleomorphic, acid-fast, pathogenic bacterium. It is an aerobic bacillus (rod-shaped bacterium) with parallel sides and round ends, surrounded by the characteristic waxy coating unique to mycobacteria. In size and shape, it closely resembles Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

What is the difference between tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy?

Leprosy has traditionally been classified into two major types, tuberculoid and lepromatous. Patients with tuberculoid leprosy have limited disease and relatively few bacteria in the skin and nerves, while lepromatous patients have widespread disease and large numbers of bacteria.

What is Paucibacillary and Multibacillary leprosy?

Paucibacillary leprosy: 2 to 5 patches or lesions on the skin. Multibacillary leprosy: >5 patches or lesions on the skin. Recommended types of surveillance. Individual patient records at peripheral level for investigation and case-management.

What is leprosy characterized by?

Lepromatous leprosy is characterized by a poor immunologic response and reveals diffuse infiltration by histiocytes that are incapable of undergoing epithelioid transformation and unable to form granulomas.

What shape is Mycobacterium leprae?

rod-shaped bacterium
M. leprae is a strongly acid-fast, rod-shaped bacterium. It has parallel sides and rounded ends, measuring 1-8 microns in length and 0.2-0.5 micron in diameter, and closely resembles the tubercle bacillus.

What clinical feature is characteristic of lepromatous leprosy?

Signs and symptoms of lepromatous leprosy include the following: Painless pale or red skin lesions without loss of sensation; lesions become raised as the disease progresses. Thickening of peripheral nerves with diminished sensation and burning or tingling sensations. Extensive sensory loss over a longer period.

What is lepromatous leprosy?

LL is a systemic disease that occurs in patients with poor cell-mediated immunity toM. leprae, but with higher levels of antibodies. The cutaneous lesions are multiple, symmetrical, and may affect the whole skin, giving a sclerodermatous appearance (diffuse or Lucio-type leprosy).

What is Paucibacillary leprosy?

Paucibacillary (PB), or tuberculoid, Hansen’s disease is characterized by one or a few hypopigmented or hyperpigmented skin macules that exhibit loss of sensation (anesthesia) due to infection of the peripheral nerves supplying the region.

What are the two clinical presentations of Mycobacterium leprae infections?

Type 1 (reversal) – Sudden onset of skin redness and new lesions. Type 2 (erythema nodosum leprosum [ENL]; as seen in the image below) – Many skin nodules, fever, redness of eyes, muscle pain, and joint pain (seen in lepromatous leprosy only)

What is morphology of Mycobacterium leprae?

M. leprae is a strongly acid-fast, rod-shaped bacterium. It has parallel sides and rounded ends, measuring 1-8 microns in length and 0.2-0.5 micron in diameter, and closely resembles the tubercle bacillus.

Is Mycobacterium leprae motile?

Mycobacterium leprae is an acid fast bacillus, non motile, non spore forming, straight or slightly curved bacterium, responsible for causing leprosy.

What does lepromatous leprosy mean?

Medical Definition of lepromatous leprosy : the one of the two major forms of leprosy that is characterized by the formation of lepromas, the presence of numerous Hansen’s bacilli in the lesions, and a negative skin reaction to lepromin and that remains infectious to others until treated — compare tuberculoid leprosy.

What are the symptoms of lepromatous leprosy?

3. Ridley-Jopling classification

Classification	Symptoms
Mid-borderline Hansen’s disease	Reddish plaques; moderate numbness; swollen lymph nodes; more nerve involvement
Borderline lepromatous Hansen’s disease	Many lesions, including flat lesions, raised bumps, plaques, and nodules; more numbness

What causes lepromatous leprosy?

Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy) is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It can affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose (nasal mucosa). With early diagnosis and treatment, the disease can be cured.

How is Paucibacillary leprosy diagnosed?

In developing countries, classification of multibacillary or paucibacillary leprosy is made by the combination of clinical examination findings and bacterial counts as determined on acid-fast–stained smears made from skin slits of lesions and skin from cool areas of the body, such as the earlobes.

WHO Multibacillary and Paucibacillary?

Paucibacillary patients are those who are skin smear negative and show no evidence of more advanced disease on biopsy. Multibacillary patients are those who are skin smear positive and/or have a biopsy indicating more advanced disease.

What is the morphology of Mycobacterium leprae?

Morphology of Mycobacterium Leprae: M. leprae occur singly in parallel bundles (like cigarettes in a packet). They are slender, slightly curved or straight rods, measuring 1-8 µm x 0.2-0.5 µm, with considerable variation in size.

Why is Mycobacterium leprae difficult to culture?

Mycobacterium leprae. This can be used as a diagnostic test for the presence of bacilli in body lesions of suspected leprosy patients. The difficulty in culturing the organism appears to be because it is an obligate intracellular parasite that lacks many necessary genes for independent survival.

What is Mycobacterium leprae (Hansen’s bacillus spirilly)?

Mycobacterium leprae, also known as Hansen’s bacillus spirilly, mostly found in warm tropical countries, is a bacterium that causes leprosy. It is an intracellular, pleomorphic, acid-fast, pathogenic bacterium. M. leprae is an aerobic bacillus (rod-shaped bacterium) surrounded by the characteristic waxy coating unique to mycobacteria.

Is Mycobacterium leprae resistant to dapsone?

Mycobacterium leprae was sensitive to dapsone (diaminodiphenylsulfone, the first effective treatment which was discovered for leprosy in the 1940s), but resistance against this antibiotic has developed over time. Therapy with dapsone alone is now strongly contraindicated.