When a Tiny Rash Turns Out to Be Leprosy, A Teen and Her Community Learn the Modern Reality of Living With the Biblical Disease
The pink marks that appeared last summer on the back of Elizabeth "BB" Blanchard's left calf looked like three slightly raised rows. Neither the teenager nor her parents thought much about it, because they occurred where a stinging caterpillar had left similar marks a few years before. Bug bites are not unusual in Baton Rouge, where the Blanchards live.
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In September, Blanchard tagged along when her older brother went to the dermatologist. BB's mother, Anne, asked the physician to check her daughter.
The diagnosis that ultimately resulted -- leprosy -- turned the Blanchards' world upside down and rippled through the lives of many people they knew or had contact with. It also raised issues that are often confronted when any contagious disease is diagnosed, particularly one with scary connotations: What precautions should be taken to protect the rights of the affected individual as well as the health of the community? Where can reliable information be found?
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For the Blanchards, some of the answers lay almost literally in their back yard. Baton Rouge is home to the National Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) Clinical Center, part of the U.S. Public Health Service. Founded in 1894 as a state leprosarium in nearby Carville, La., the center is considered the premier research and treatment facility in the world for leprosy.
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Had BB Blanchard's leprosy been diagnosed 60 years ago, her life would likely have taken a far different course. But the drug therapy developed at the Baton Rouge center now effectively treats leprosy, and when the illness is diagnosed early, the terrible complications can be avoided.
Washington Post