Since the beginning of time, Hansen’s disease has been recognized as a problem. Reported in Egypt as early as 1350 BC. C., lepresia is the oldest disease known to man; this is according to the Guinness World Records. Lepers have often lived outside of society. This is due in part to the fact that the disease was long believed to have been caused by a divine curse or punishment, often associated with demons. This idea changed in the Middle Ages, when people began to believe that lepers are loved by God, and that it is humans who have cursed them.

Another reason for committing lepers is that in the past leprosy was believed to be highly contagious. It was even taken to the extent that leprosy could be spread by the look of a leper or an invisible leper standing upwind from healthy people. Today we know that the disease is much less contagious than we believed in the past. Leprosy is caused by a mycobacterium that will multiply at a very slow rate. The disease primarily affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes. The organism has never been grown in cell culture, due to the difficulty involved in doing so. This difficulty is due to the fact that the organism is an obligate intracellular parasite. This means that it lacks many genes necessary for independent survival. This is also self-evident and provides proof that it has such a slow replication rate.

Uncertain today, is the method of transmission of Hansen’s disease. Many people believe that it is spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. However, what we do know is that the majority of the population is naturally immune to the disease. The disease is chronic, and patients are often classified as paucibacillary, which is a form of multibacillary Hansen’s disease.