There are many different diseases that are discussed in the bible. Some are easily fixed while some are gruesome and irreversible. One of those diseases that has long been considered difficult to treat is leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease. Leprosy is the world’s oldest disease and is one of the most dreadful as well. The prevalence of leprosy has decreased in recent decades thanks to better prevention and treatment strategies. In the 1980, there were nearly 5.2 million cases of leprosy worldwide; today, that number is closer to 200,000 (Cairns, Smith, & Aerts, 2014). The purpose of researching leprosy was to gain a deeper understanding of what this disease is, how it can and has been treated, the nurse’s role in caring for patients with …show more content…
The biblical meaning of leprosy was most likely a broader term than what leprosy is considered today, but it can be safely assumed that some of the skin diseases that they are referencing were Hansen’s disease. In the Old Testament, leprosy is mentioned a total of 55 times. In the New Testament, it is still mentioned 13 times (Answers in Genesis, 2014). One example of this disease being discussed is when it is described in Leviticus 13:1-3, “The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.’” This description loosely resembles that of leprosy, which gives evidence that the definition of the disease has changed since biblical …show more content…
In some cases, the signs and symptoms do not appear for 2-10 years after initial exposure and infection (CDC: Leprosy, 2013). Leprosy is caused by mycobacterium leprae. M. leprae is considered an opportunistic infection and is known as an atypical mycobacterial infection (AMI). When people have compromised or depleted immune systems, they are at an increased risk of getting infected with leprosy (Adams & Urban, 2013). A person who is infected with M. leprae will present with skin lesions that are sometimes large, growths on the skin, neuropathy related to nerve damage, pain, muscle weakness, and sometimes paralysis (CDC: Leprosy, 2013). The nerve damage occurs when the infection causes the nerves to thicken, this leads to the neuropathy and paresthesia. If a person infected with leprosy is not treated, the disease can cause severe disfigurement and deformities, including loss of digits (Adams & Urban, 2013). Leprosy can be a communicable or non-communicable disease. This depends on the stage of the disease, the severity, and the effectiveness of the medication therapy. The M. leprae bacterium is most likely spread from person to person. The transmission is believed to be from droplets that are excreted from a person through events such as a sneeze or a cough (CDC: Leprosy, 2013). Evidence also supports that the bacterium may have a very long incubation time that could be
In 1348, religious authorities determined that the immodest behavior of certain groups led to outbreaks of ubiquitous plague. The tendency to regard indecency as the cause of plague is displayed in records of the day. Henry Knighton’s description of a guilty crowd attending the tournaments is a telling example. He laments that, “they spent and wasted their goods, and (according to the common report) abused their bodies in wantonness and scurrilous licentiousness. They neither feared God nor blushed at the criticism of the people, but took the marriage bond lightly and were deaf to the demands of modesty” (130). As one can gather from this passage, the 1348 religi...
p134). The quote which are the holy words of God testifies that a wicked person who has sex
Prior to the beginning of the study, the doctors decided to withhold the official diagnosis from their patients. Instead, of telling the patients that they were infected with syphilis they chose to tell them they had bad blood. This was a decision made as a group, however, the provider’s individual reasoning was different. Miss Evers wanted to tell them
Most people in the U.S. learn STDs in their health class in high school. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that causes sores over private parts or all over the body in a later stage. Syphilis is caused by a bacteria called spirochete. The spirochete cannot survive outside the body. The only way to get the disease is by intimate contact, but catching it is rare. Having more than one partner could increase the chances to catch the disease. The spirochete enters in a break in your skin genitals area or mouth. Once in your body, about three weeks it becomes a sore or have multiple sores. The sore looks like a crater on the surface of the skin. In the first stage it can be treated easily with antibiotics or penicillin. The second stage the syphilis spreads to the rest of the body. It is visible in your hand and soles on your feet. It can cause cardio-vascular disease, mental problems, paralysis, blindness and tumors. Syphilis has links to HIV/AIDS. It also attacks your nervous system. After infection it takes 21 to develop any symptoms for other people it takes from 10 to ninety days. It acts like no other disease known. The last stage is the deadliest if ignored, by the person. The damage obtained by syphilis is irreversible. By practicing safe sex (condoms), or having one sex partner can prevent these
The true identity of biblical leprosy, and what it defines as within the confines of the Bible are areas of hot debate among scholars. The majority of religious academics generally now accept that the leprosy of biblical times is not what we...
...unity who had syphilis” (Gray 105). This study lacked reason, but more importantly, this study lacked morality.
The history of Syphilis itself is one tangled and wrapped up in the histories of other diseases, social movements, and sciences. To...
the first sign. What was worse about the plague was that the physicians at the time couldn 't find a cure
In 1929, there were good intentions to help the African Americans. The Julius Rosenwald Fund tried to improve the health illnesses of African Americans by approaching representatives of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). Unfortunately, the Great Depression did not allow for this study to happen because it hit the Fund hard. Since there were no more funds, Dr. Taliaferro Clark, Chief of the USPHS Venereal Disease Division and author of the Rosenwald Study report, suggested that the treatment study could be partly saved by conducting a new study. This study became known as “Study of Untreated Syphilis in Males.”
The disease was viewed as a black man’s disease due to its vast spread in the black race community. In this chapter, it is clear that the medical fraternity had formed opinion of the disease even before the start of the experiment. The theme of racial prejudice is brought out clearly in this chapter. The blacks are discriminated from the whites even after learning that syphilis can affect both races alike. The slaves received treatment like their masters just because of economic concerns and not because they were human like their masters. In chapter 3 “Disease Germs Are the Most Democratic Creatures in the World”, the writer points out that the germ theory changed the way syphilis is viewed in the society. It was clear that other emphasis such as sanitation, education and preventative medicine was necessary to combat the disease. The areas inhabited by the blacks were behind in healthcare facilities and service. In this chapter, the theme of unequal distribution of resources is seen. Whereas areas inhabited by the whites had better hospitals and qualified professionals to deal with the
Just as Arthur Miller, the writer of “The Crucible”, said, “Sex,sin, and the devil were early linked” (Miller,1125). During the AIDS hysteria, homosexual intercourse was thought to be the cause of widespread immune deficiency, so the disease was soon labeled “Gay Men’s Health Crisis” (“History of HIV and AIDS”). As time progressed AIDS, it was discovered, could also be spread through heterosexual couples(“History of HIV and AIDS”). This
Now the clock ticked on several fronts: The gradual loss of religious freedom, whisked in a one-world church coupled with global governmental rule already firmly established as wars broke out all over the world. Although these and others were biblically implied events, the looming killer microbe (from the heavens) readied itself for pandemonium. Could it be that they were about to experience a ‘pestilence’ in biblical proportions? Not enough time remained to worry about being cool in the delivery of such an urgent message.
Jesus’ willingness to heal The cure of a man suffering from a virulent skin disease (Mk 1:40-45) shows Jesus healing what was known as an incurable disease at that time. During Jesus’ time leprosy was seen as a punishment from God for sins against him. This beseeching man approached Jesus pleading him to cleanse him from this impurity, “A man suffering from a virulent skin disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, ‘If you are willing, you can cleanse me.’” During this time, lepers were seen as social outcasts of society, to such an extent where they had to warn people that approached them of their disease.
The negative view of the female sex continues in Leviticus, in a section dictating the re...
Syphilis is a sexually transmitting infection caused by Treonema pallidum, a gram negative, and anaerobic spirochete bacteria 1. Syphilis is thought to have been brought to Europe by Columbus and his sailors in the 1500’s 1. The disease is characterized by four different stages with varying symptoms depending on the stage that the disease is in1. Often syphilis is presented with another sexually transmitted infection such as chlamydia. Public education regarding safe sex is important for the prevention of this sexually transmitted infection.