Leprosy bacteria immune to conventional drugs
Leprosy bacteria immune to conventional drugs
JAKARTA (JP): The need to find a new cure for leprosy is becoming urgent as the bacteria causing the disease are already immune to existing medicines, an expert said yesterday.
Adhi Djuanda of the University of Indonesia's School of Medical Sciences said that the spread of Mycobacterium leprae or M. leprae can no longer be curbed with "conventional" drugs.
Adhi made the remarks in a speech marking his inauguration as professor at the university.
He said that earlier studies have shown that M. leprae has become resistant to diaminodifenilsulfon, or DDS, the main medication for leprosy.
"This was discovered in 1983 by Dr. Robert Uci, from the school's microbiology division, who conducted studies through a 'mouse footpad inoculation' technique. It was a pity, though, that no further studies could proceed due to financial and manpower constraints," he said.
Adhi said he hoped that in the future more research could be conducted to determine the level of resistance of M. leprae to various anti-leper medications.
He obtained his degree in 1961 from the university's school of medicine and specialized in venereal and skin diseases before gaining his doctorate in 1969 from the university's postgraduate school.
He has written and edited hundreds of scientific papers and books. He is also the editor of Indonesian Medical Magazine and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Medical Journal of the University of Indonesia.
Adhi pointed out that at present there is no medication against leprosy effective enough to replace DDS.
Although research on new medicines and vaccines is being carried out, at least five years are required before effectivity can be assessed.
Leprosy, one of the oldest diseases on earth, is believed to have originated in India.
In 1993, Indonesia ranked fourth in the world with 130,000 lepers. India ranked first with 1,167,900 lepers, Brazil second with 283,800 and Bangladesh third with 136,000.
The highest counts in Indonesia were found in Irian Jaya, Maluku and part of Southeast Kalimantan, where the ratio was more than 10 lepers for every 10,000 people.
In 1994, the lowest occurrence was recorded in Yogyakarta with a prevalence of 0.2 per 10,000 people and the highest in Irian Jaya with 31.2 per 10,000.
Leprosy, which has an indefinite incubation period of between three months and 40 years, is transmitted through mucus droplets.
However, only 5-15 percent of all leprosy types are actually contagious and most people have a high level of resistance to the bacteria, which it eliminates once it enters the body.
"Tuberculosis is much more contagious compared to leprosy. Leprosy is an infectious but not an easily transmitted disease," Adhi said.
Nonetheless, he said, the general understanding of leprosy as a highly contagious disease has caused most people to have "leprophobia", or an irrational fear of leprosy.
"The social aspects of leprosy are so broad and so mentally and emotionally depressing that it has also become a social problem," he said.
Leprophobia, he said, has penetrated so deep into society that it is feared not only by the public but by doctors and paramedics as well.
"The phobia causes people to be isolated and rejected by their closest families. Lepers are ousted from their villages, schools or jobs and become vagrants...For the sake of humanity, I call on the conscience of the public, especially doctors and paramedics, to eliminate leprophobia. Lepers are also humans like us," Adhi said. (pwn)