This
paper looks at leprosy (or Hansen's
disease) which, until the AIDS epidemic was the most feared infectious disease.
It traces its history from Biblical times to the discovery of its cause in 1873 by Dr. Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. It examines various aspects of the
disease, including resistance to drugs, statistics and symptoms. The
paper is illustrated with drawings and diagrams.