Since ancient times, the disease we call leprosy has terrorized man. Aside from what it did to a person’s body, a person with leprosy was forced to live away from other people. No one wanted to come near him or have him around; a leper had to spend the rest of his life alone.

Today we know much more about leprosy and treat this disease differently. Leprosy is an infectious or contagious disease which affects the skin or the nerves, or both. The bacteria that cause the infection were discovered by a Norwegian named Hansen, so leprosy is also known as Hansen’s Disease.