“Kusta”: Is it a curse?

Does it still exist in Malaysia and other countries worldwide? Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humankind. It is also known as Hansen’s disease or “kusta” in Malay. It is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which affects peripheral nerves, upper respiratory tracts and eyes. Historically...

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Main Author: Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Malaysian Medical Gazette 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/7/64360%20Kusta%20-Is%20It%20A%20Curse.pdf
id iium-64360
recordtype eprints
spelling iium-643602018-07-17T01:45:59Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/ “Kusta”: Is it a curse? Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan R Medicine (General) RL Dermatology Does it still exist in Malaysia and other countries worldwide? Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humankind. It is also known as Hansen’s disease or “kusta” in Malay. It is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which affects peripheral nerves, upper respiratory tracts and eyes. Historically, there were huge misconceptions on kusta, in which all the affected patients were isolated and not allowed to mix with the community. The first isolation center was built in Malaysia as early as 1850 in Malacca. Subsequent leprosy settlements were later built in Pulau Jerejak, Penang in 1871; followed by Setapak Camp in 1893, followed by Pulau Pangkor Laut Camp in 1903 before Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement took over in 1920s. Indeed, leprosy still occurs in Malaysia, but reducing in trend from 6 per 10000 population in 1980s to as low as 0.2 per 10000 population from 2012 onwards. World Health Organization (WHO) already established its goal initially in 1990 of eliminating leprosy by year 2000. This is actually achievable as the prevalence rate worldwide had coming down to 0.37 per 10000 populations. Malaysia already achieved elimination (less than 1 per 10000 populations) of leprosy in 1994. Despite that, great numbers of cases were still seen in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria and Bangladesh. Malaysian Medical Gazette 2016-01-29 Article NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/7/64360%20Kusta%20-Is%20It%20A%20Curse.pdf Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan (2016) “Kusta”: Is it a curse? Malaysian Medical Gazette. pp. 1-3. http://www.mmgazette.com/kusta-is-it-a-curse-dr-mohd-shaiful-ehsan/
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution International Islamic University Malaysia
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
language English
topic R Medicine (General)
RL Dermatology
spellingShingle R Medicine (General)
RL Dermatology
Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan
“Kusta”: Is it a curse?
description Does it still exist in Malaysia and other countries worldwide? Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humankind. It is also known as Hansen’s disease or “kusta” in Malay. It is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which affects peripheral nerves, upper respiratory tracts and eyes. Historically, there were huge misconceptions on kusta, in which all the affected patients were isolated and not allowed to mix with the community. The first isolation center was built in Malaysia as early as 1850 in Malacca. Subsequent leprosy settlements were later built in Pulau Jerejak, Penang in 1871; followed by Setapak Camp in 1893, followed by Pulau Pangkor Laut Camp in 1903 before Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement took over in 1920s. Indeed, leprosy still occurs in Malaysia, but reducing in trend from 6 per 10000 population in 1980s to as low as 0.2 per 10000 population from 2012 onwards. World Health Organization (WHO) already established its goal initially in 1990 of eliminating leprosy by year 2000. This is actually achievable as the prevalence rate worldwide had coming down to 0.37 per 10000 populations. Malaysia already achieved elimination (less than 1 per 10000 populations) of leprosy in 1994. Despite that, great numbers of cases were still seen in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
format Article
author Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan
author_facet Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan
author_sort Shalihin, Mohd Shaiful Ehsan
title “Kusta”: Is it a curse?
title_short “Kusta”: Is it a curse?
title_full “Kusta”: Is it a curse?
title_fullStr “Kusta”: Is it a curse?
title_full_unstemmed “Kusta”: Is it a curse?
title_sort “kusta”: is it a curse?
publisher Malaysian Medical Gazette
publishDate 2016
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/64360/7/64360%20Kusta%20-Is%20It%20A%20Curse.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T21:31:21Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T21:31:21Z
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