Albertina is 85 years old. She is here sine 4 years ago. They receive visits of people of the community, some of them are
Albertina is 85 years old. She is here sine 4 years ago. They receive visits of people of the community, some of them are volunteers that help them and come every day. Life here is different from other asylums. Leprosy is one of the world’s oldest diseases, but it is still not entirely clear how it spreads. The pathogen, Mycobacterium lepra, is well known; leprosy was one of the first diseases linked specifically to an infectious agent, way back in 1873. (In fact, leprosy is officially called Hansen’s disease, after the Norwegian doctor Armauer Hansen, who first viewed the bacterium under a microscope.) But because the organism cannot be cultured in the lab, there is no easy screening test. There is no effective vaccine, and little prospect of one. The bacterium likely spreads from the infected through coughing and sneezing, but its entry point into the body is not certain. What is clear is that leprosy is not very contagious; most people have natural immunity.
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