The findings by the National Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Laboratory Research Program in Baton Rouge, La., supported a local doctor’s diagnosis that a student at Indian Hills Elementary School had leprosy.
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A student at a Riverside County elementary school has been found to have leprosy, public health officials said Thursday, though they emphasize that the school and community remain safe.
A second child was suspected of having the illness but there is no indication at this time that the youngster was infected, said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside Countys public health officer. The classrooms have been sanitized since the initial diagnoses.
The U.S. sees only about 150 leprosy cases occur each year.
Hansen’s disease, more popularly known as leprosy, is transmitted through prolonged contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The alleged leprosy cases turned into one confirmed leprosy case in one of South California’s schools.
School officials have not confirmed how the child caught the disease or their identity.
“The only way to protect the two students is for nobody to know who they are”, he said.
“I understand people were quite concerned, but I really hope that by now, with all the information we have, everyone is aware this is a curable disease and the school is safe”, Duchon told City News Service.
Leprosy remains a problem in tropical hot spots of the world with some 250,000 new infections reported each year.
Those most at risk are family members who are in constant contact with an untreated person, and is usually contracted by people who have traveled to places like India, Brazil and Angola where it’s more common. Stories of fingers and toes falling off due to leprosy are false, too.
Also, despite the widespread notion that leprosy is easily spread, the disease is typically acquired only after prolonged contact with someone infected with the bacterium.
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Leprosy has an infamous reputation as an infectious plague that has caused social stigma for its victims, and is one of the most misunderstood diseases in history. It is only when left untreated that sufferers of the disease will begin to experience permanent damage to the nerves, eyes or skin.
