DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i12.015

Pages: 4249-4253

Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M.leprae). It is infectious in some cases and affects peripheral nerves, skin and certain other organs (muscles, eyes, bones, testis, and internal organs). It is considered as a disease of global importance. The objective of this study is to review the morphology of 75 diagnosed cases of Hansen’s disease. Seventy five clinically diagnosed cases of leprosy having macular and plaque lesions from the department of Dermatology, from January 2005 to July 2007 were studied. Skin biopsy specimens from the lesions were taken from all the patients under local anaesthesia. Out of 75 clinically diagnosed cases there was no histological evidence of Hansen’s disease in 5 cases (possibly biopsies taken from non-representative sites) and 70 cases were proved histopathologically as Hansen’s disease. Precise assessment of the status of leprosy both clinical and histopathological examination should be carried out apart from bacteriological examination.