Leprosy Cases may have been discovered at the Jurupa Unified School District. Two children are suspected of the illness. The School has notified the parents that their children manifested a number of symptoms corresponding to Hansen’s Disease
Leprosy is a chronic disease that is caused by the multiplying of the M. leprae bacteria and it is estimated that only 5% of the people can be affected by it. 95 % of the population is immune to this bacteria and won’t get the disease.
The Hensen’s disease spreads very slow; it could take up to 10 years to develop it. You can catch this disease only if you have very close contact with the sick person.
In California, at the Jurupa Unified School District, 2 students have some symptoms that look like leprosy. After the parents had been notified by the school, many students didn’t show up to class the following day.
Now the parents are concerned about this news and don’t know what to do, whether to send their children to school at the recommendation of the principal, or to keep them home until the leprosy scare is gone.
Barbara Cole, a nurse at Riverside County Health Department, told everybody that there is nothing to worry about because the transmission is very unlikely. She also says that she does not consider it to be a public health risk.
The nurse was backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says there is no motive to keep the kids away from school, and they should attend class as usual until the leprosy cases are confirmed.
The School says that they sent home the children with symptoms and the classrooms where they stayed have been disinfected.
Do you think these are indeed leprosy cases or was it just a rumor that shocked every student and parent at JUSD?
The Leprosy disease symptoms:
- Growths on the skin
- Skin lesions that may be faded/discolored
- Severe pain
- Enlarged nerves (especially those around the elbow and knee)
- Thick, stiff or dry skin
- Numbness on affected areas of the skin
- Muscle weakness or paralysis (especially in the hands and feet)
- A stuffy nose
- Nosebleeds
- Ulcers on the soles of feet
- Eye problems that may lead to blindness
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