several genes have been associated with the diseases leprosy. Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that mainly infects skin macrophages and Schwann cells in peripheral nerves. Genetic and environmental factors play an important role in leprosy. It is estimated that approximately 90% of the population develop protective immunity in infection, and, therefore, do not get sick. Other individuals, however, show clinical susceptibility to a wide spectrum of pathogens associated to changes in immune response. Data observed in various populations show that some aspects related to disease progression are due to host genetic factors that influence control of the initial infection and the host immune response to that infection.
Last date updated on April, 2024
Spanish 
Chinese 
Russian 
German 
French 
Japanese 
Portuguese 
Hindi