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Leprosy is a chronic bacterial disease of the skin, nerves in the hands and feet and, in some cases, the lining of the nose. Leprosy is a rare disease in the United States. Anyone can get leprosy, but children seem to be more susceptible than adults. It is not clear how the leprosy germ is spread, but household and prolonged close contact is important. The germs probably enter the body through the nose and possibly …

…It is a bacterial disease.The causative agent is the Mycobacterium leprae known also as Hansen's bacterum, and it is an alcohol-acid, intracellular rod, about 5 m long, and is indistinguishable from other mycobacteria: for example, mycobacterium tubercolosis. It can be stained with the basic fucsin Ziehl-Nielsen method; when it is alive, it is stained in an uniform way, otherwise it appears irregular and fraigmented. The dead bacterium remains in the human body for many years.