Maybe you don't know,
Every year on the last Sunday of January,
It's all a special day.
But you've definitely heard a well-known name – "Model of the Times" Li Huanying.
Li Huanying is a world-famous leprosy prevention and treatment expert, and she has devoted all her energy to the cause of leprosy prevention and control on the mainland, turning one isolated leprosy village into a happy village.
Every year on the last Sunday of January, world leprosy day is held. Initiated by the French in 1953 and established by the World Health Organization. In 1954, the French philanthropist Raoul Follerean (1903-1977) initiated the establishment of the "International Leprosy Festival" (the last Sunday of January every year) in Paris. On November 27, 1987, the Chinese Leprosy Prevention and Control Association decided that from 1988 onwards, the "International Leprosy Festival" would also be regarded as the "Chinese Leprosy Festival".
January 30, 2022 is the 69th World Leprosy Day and the 35th China Leprosy Festival, with the theme of "Caring for Leprosy Patients and Creating a Better Life".
What is leprosy?
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprosy, which mainly invades the skin and peripheral nerve tissues, and the incubation period is generally 2-5 years, up to more than 10 years. The source of infection is untreated leprosy patients, usually through long-term close direct contact or through droplet infection, the vast majority of people have specific immunity to leprosy, is a high infection, low incidence of disease, in the mainland according to the class C infectious disease management. Socio-economic development, improved health, improved literacy and education, and improved living conditions can reduce the incidence of leprosy.
What symptoms should you be wary of leprosy?
Leprosy in Xi'an is in a low epidemic state, the city has no prevalence rate of > 1/100,000 districts (counties), early detection, timely and standardized treatment can prevent the occurrence of deformity.
Vigilance against leprosy should be performed with the following symptoms:
(1) Chronic skin diseases with unclear diagnosis or long-term incurable treatment (more than three months);
(2) Skin sweating (local dryness) or paresthesias, such as numbness, ant-like feeling;
(3) Sparse and detached eyebrows, drunken face;
(4) Swelling or nodule lumps on the face or earlobes;
(5) Edematous erythema lesions and nodular erythema lesions;
(6) Enlarged nerves, pain or tenderness;
(7) Repeated painless wounds, ulcers or easy burning/burns on the hands or feet;
(8) Eyes closed, crooked corners of mouth, atrophy of palm finger muscles, or claw-shaped hands and feet.
What are the clinical manifestations of leprosy?
The clinical manifestations of leprosy patients are mainly damage to the skin and peripheral nerves. Skin lesions are common in primary macules, papules, nodules, plaques, infiltrates and herpes, as well as secondary atrophy, scarring, keratinization, ulceration and scaling, and local numbness, perspiration, and hair loss are important bases for clinical diagnosis. Peripheral nerve damage is common in nerve enlargement, abscess, calcification, fibrosis, clinically may have superficial skin sensory impairment, neuralgia, movement disorders and other manifestations.
If leprosy is suspected, where should I go?
If you suspect that you have leprosy, you should take the initiative to go to the skin disease prevention and control hospital (institute, station) and other leprosy prevention and treatment institutions for examination and treatment, or contact the local CDC for consultation.
How to prevent leprosy?
There is currently no primary preventive measure against leprosy, and there is no effective vaccine to prevent it. Early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment of lepers are effective means of controlling the source of infection and preventing the occurrence of malformation. Bacillus leprosy is sensitive to heat and ultraviolet rays, 60 ° C (10 to 30 minutes), ultraviolet radiation (30 to 60 minutes) or direct sunlight for 2 hours can completely lose vitality, air circulation, well-lit living and living environment can reduce the incidence of leprosy, wear a mask when in contact with untreated leprosy patients, avoid skin trauma during labor, and prevent medication can effectively prevent leprosy.
Contributed by: Endemic Disease Prevention and Control Section