Question

A patient visited physician and complained about the following symptoms: I visited Egypt, painful ulcers on skin appeared after three weeks, the ulcer was moist.

1. What is the disease and its etiologic agent _________________________________

2. Describe the general characteristics of the agent______________________________

3. How is the disease transmitted?_________________________________

4. What other symptoms are caused by this agent?_____________________________

5. How can it be prevented?_____________________________________

6. What diagnostic methods are used?___________________________________

Answer 1

1. Leprosy and therir etiologic agent is Mycobacterium leprae.

2.It is rod shaped ,slow growing bacillus and obligate intracellular grows only within the human and animal cells.It is acid fast bacterium beacuse it has mycolic acid in their cell wall.

3.This disease get transmitted from person to person by nasal secretions or droptlets.or by drect contact.

4.Skin lesion of hypopigmented macules, eye damage followed to large ulceration,loss of digits ,skin nodules and facial structure change.

5.It can be prevented by early diagnosis and the treatment of people who has alreday infected (by antibiotics and steroid)

6. It can be diagnosed by skin examination and clinical methods. Skin with hypopigmented patches with loss of sensation and thickned peripheral nerve can be easily seen. Skin biopsy by fite stain for acid -fast bacilli,CBC function test,liver test ,creatinine test and nerve biopsy can be done in highly progressed stage of disease.