ABSTRACT
Leprosy is an infectious, contagious and chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It commonly affects the skin and peripheral nerves, though sometimes the neural damage is not clinically detected. It does not invade the spinal cord or the brain. Although it has always been thought that man is the only reservoir of M. leprae, other natural sources of infection have been proposed. Armadillos have been found in the USA and in Mexico with a natural infection indistinguishable from leprosy. And in Africa, it was found in a chimpanzee and in mangabey monkeys. Leprosy has evoked a strong stigma in all cultures in which it has occurred. It is the classic example of a social-medical disease.
