Leprosy Epidemiology
By Liji Thomas, MD
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. While the organism is readily transmitted from person to person, it does not usually produce the clinical disease because of intrinsic human resistance to the infectious agent in the majority of people.
The disease affects mostly the skin and peripheral nerves. Its spectrum of manifestations varies from tuberculoid to lepromatous, depending on the cellular immune status of the patient.
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Leprosy-Epidemiology.aspx
