Leprosy is one of the world's oldest diseases, tracing back to the ancient civilizations of [[China]], [[Egypt]] and [[India]]. Leprosy was also rampant during the 13th century in [[Europe]]. Historically, it is one of the most stigmatized diseases with a reputation of being highly contagious, disfiguring and incurable. In the past leprosy sufferers were banished to ''[[leper colony|leper colonies]]''. Unfortunately, this practice still exists is some countries today, even though leprosy is now curable and is not considered highly contagious. | Leprosy is one of the world's oldest diseases, tracing back to the ancient civilizations of [[China]], [[Egypt]] and [[India]]. Leprosy was also rampant during the 13th century in [[Europe]]. Historically, it is one of the most stigmatized diseases with a reputation of being highly contagious, disfiguring and incurable. In the past leprosy sufferers were banished to ''[[leper colony|leper colonies]]''. Unfortunately, this practice still exists is some countries today, even though leprosy is now curable and is not considered highly contagious. |