hansen and the Discovery of M. LepraE
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On 28 February 1873 in Bergen, Norway, physician, Dr Gerhard Armauer Hansen, first wrote in his notebook that he had observed rod-shaped bacteria in samples from patients affected by leprosy. The bacillus in question was later given the name Mycobacterium leprae as the causative agent for leprosy. The discovery was a watershed moment in the history of leprosy and global health; a scientific breakthrough that had enormous consequences.
His distinguished work was later recognised at the International Leprosy Congress held in Bergen in 1909. |
Dr Gerhard Armauer Hansen
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In 1873, aged 32 years, Hansen re-examined leprous skin nodules and discovered the rod-like bodies inside cells that looked like bacteria; they were not present in all cells, but in most of them. He believed these bodies to be the causative agent of leprosy and thereby became the first to suggest that microorganisms might cause a human disease. He published his findings in an 88-page monograph in 1874 Dr Gerhard Armauer Hansen | International Leprosy Association - History of Leprosy (leprosyhistory.org)
At the International Symposium on Leprosy held at the Vatican in Rome, January 2023, Professor Margareth Hagen, Rector of the University of Bergen, speaking by a video link from Norway, made the following remarks.
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She said that it was the 150th year since the discovery of Mycobacterium leprae by Dr Armauer Hansen in 1873. His work paved the way for the treatment of leprosy. At that time, Hansen recommended early diagnosis and life segregation for people affected by leprosy which undoubtedly contributed to its stigma. She added:
leprosy is the least contagious of all contagious diseases. We must combat stigma, a barrier to early diagnosis" said Professor Hagen |
Professor Margareth Hagen, Rector of the University of Bergen, Norway
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M. leprae (Copyright ALAMY)
Biography - Dr Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen (July 1841 - February 1912)
Dr Hansen was born in Bergen, Norway, and attended the Bergen Cathedral School. He worked at Rikshospitalet in Christiania (now Oslo) and as a doctor in Lofoten. In 1868 Hansen returned to Bergen to study leprosy while working at Lungegård Hospital (Lungegårdshospitalet) with Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, a noted expert.
At that time, leprosy was regarded as largely hereditary or otherwise miasmic in origin. Hansen concluded on the basis of epidemiological studies, that leprosy was a specific disease with a specific cause. In 1870–1871 he travelled to Bonn and Vienna to gain the training necessary for him to prove his hypothesis. In 1873, he announced the discovery of M. leprae in the tissues of all sufferers, although he did not identify them as bacteria, and received little support. The discovery was made with a "new and better" microscope.
In 1879 Hansen gave tissue samples to Albert Neisser, who then successfully stained the bacteria and announced his findings in 1880, claiming to have discovered the disease-causing organism. There was some dispute between Neisser and Hansen, Hansen as discoverer of the bacillus and Neisser as identifier of it as the etiological agent. Neisser tried to downplay the assistance of Hansen. Hansen's claim was weakened by his failure to produce a pure microbiological culture in an artificial medium, or to prove that the rod-shaped organisms were infectious. Further Hansen had attempted to infect at least one female patient without consent and although no damage was caused, that case ended in court and Hansen lost his post at the hospital.
Hansen remained medical officer for leprosy in Norway and it was through his efforts that the Leprosy Acts of 1877 and 1885 were passed, leading to a steady decline of the disease in Norway from 1,800 known cases in 1875 to just 575 cases in 1901.
Hansen had suffered from syphilis since the 1860s but died of heart disease. He was an atheist.
Dr Hansen was born in Bergen, Norway, and attended the Bergen Cathedral School. He worked at Rikshospitalet in Christiania (now Oslo) and as a doctor in Lofoten. In 1868 Hansen returned to Bergen to study leprosy while working at Lungegård Hospital (Lungegårdshospitalet) with Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, a noted expert.
At that time, leprosy was regarded as largely hereditary or otherwise miasmic in origin. Hansen concluded on the basis of epidemiological studies, that leprosy was a specific disease with a specific cause. In 1870–1871 he travelled to Bonn and Vienna to gain the training necessary for him to prove his hypothesis. In 1873, he announced the discovery of M. leprae in the tissues of all sufferers, although he did not identify them as bacteria, and received little support. The discovery was made with a "new and better" microscope.
In 1879 Hansen gave tissue samples to Albert Neisser, who then successfully stained the bacteria and announced his findings in 1880, claiming to have discovered the disease-causing organism. There was some dispute between Neisser and Hansen, Hansen as discoverer of the bacillus and Neisser as identifier of it as the etiological agent. Neisser tried to downplay the assistance of Hansen. Hansen's claim was weakened by his failure to produce a pure microbiological culture in an artificial medium, or to prove that the rod-shaped organisms were infectious. Further Hansen had attempted to infect at least one female patient without consent and although no damage was caused, that case ended in court and Hansen lost his post at the hospital.
Hansen remained medical officer for leprosy in Norway and it was through his efforts that the Leprosy Acts of 1877 and 1885 were passed, leading to a steady decline of the disease in Norway from 1,800 known cases in 1875 to just 575 cases in 1901.
Hansen had suffered from syphilis since the 1860s but died of heart disease. He was an atheist.
Postage stamp from Norway - commemorating the discovery of M. leprae by Dr Armauer Hansen. (Copyright ALAMY)
