According to scientists in the U.S. leprosy is a disease which may be forgotten, but it is still around.
Leprosy which is usually associated with biblical times, is also known as Hansen's disease, and the scientists say approximately 150 cases are diagnosed each year.
Dr. James Krahenbuhl, director of the Health Resources Service Administration's National Hansen's Disease Program (NHDP) in Baton Rouge, says 3,000 people in the U.S. are currently being treated for leprosy.
Dr. Krahenbuhl says they suspect there are other cases of leprosy which not identified due to the lack of awareness about the disease among doctors and this is leading to misdiagnosis and wrong treatments for patients who are left to suffer with the debilitating damage caused by the disease.
Although it remains unclear how leprosy is transmitted, it is known to be a slow, chronic disease that attacks the peripheral nervous system and motor skills, often leading to disability and disfigurement.
According to the NHDP, the onset of infection and symptoms can take anywhere from three to 10 years, which makes it difficult to trace the origin of the disease or how people acquire it.
As the disease progresses, patients lose their sense of touch in their fingers and toes leaving them open to repeated burns and cuts which then get infected and the effects of repeated damage initiates bone absorption and motor nerve deterioration, causing fingers to shorten and curve, resulting in a claw-like appearance.
Although leprosy can be fully treated with medicine when diagnosed in early stages, once the disease has advanced nerve damage cannot be reversed.
The NHDP says because many of the population in the U.S. affected by leprosy are immigrants living in poor communities, who seek treatment in free clinics or emergency rooms, many of those doctors are not familiar with the disease and unable to make an accurate diagnosis.
Many doctors mistake the skin lesions of leprosy for a fungus or ringworm and treat it with a topical cream and, because leprosy is a slow-progressing disease, it can take months, if not longer, before the doctor or the patient realises that the treatment isn't working - by which time the disease may have started to destroy the nervous system