Scientific meeting discusses leprosy and its challenges in times of COVID

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 13 (ACN) Renowned professors of Dermatology and related specialties will meet at the 32nd National Conference on Leprosy, scheduled for February 25.

Dr. Olaine R. Gray Lovio, President of the Cuban Society of Dermatology and chair of the Organizing Committee, announced that this virtual event will have as its main theme Leprosy and its challenges in times of COVID and it will discuss topics such as the history, epidemiology, immunology and clinical symptoms of the disease, as well as its bacteriological, anatomopathological and differential diagnoses, among others.

On February 24, the National Pre-conference Course on Leprosy will take place, also online, with lectures by prestigious figures of this and other fields involved in the management and control of this disease.

Leprosy, a curable chronic infectious disease that causes lesions—mostly on the skin, eyes, nose and peripheral nerves—is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, Dr. Gray Lovio told ACN. Its symptoms range from clear or red lesions on the skin and reduced sensitivity and numbness in the hands and feet. It can be cured in 6 to 12 months with a treatment based on several drugs which, if applied early, it prevents disability.

Leprosy is still a serious health problem in some countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Cuba has managed to keep it under control since 1993, albeit about 200 new cases are reported annually, according to statistics.

Other common symptoms are cramps in hands and feet without a precise cause, nosebleeds and alopecia of the tail of the eyebrow, as well as the appearance of nodules in the form of small balls at skin level.