A team of Chinese scientists have discovered six new genetic predispositions for leprosy.
The results of their study were recently published in the health journal "Nature Genetics."
The researchers from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology worked hand in hand with facilities and institutions from the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and the Netherlands.
Their study confirmed the existing 18 predispositions known to scientists studying leprosy. It also found out six new genetic variants.
The discovery is monumental, as it would help scientists come up with better treatment methods for the disease.
Studying 8,313 people from China over the course of four years, the researchers came up with a model of risk prediction based from the known 18 predispositions for leprosy.
While the additional six are vital in understanding the disease better, it only partially touches on the reason that the disease is hereditary, said executive deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Zhang Guocheng, who led the team. He added that further study must be made to discover other genetic risk factors.
"The establishment of the model makes early diagnosis of leprosy a possibility and is the first step to translating our findings into practical technology," he noted.
Leprosy is due to the Hansen's bacillus that attacks the skin with lesions and affects a person's physical ability. Untreated, the disease causes nerve damages that could prove fatal. The disease's incubation period is about five years. In other instances, symptoms come out after two decades, which is often too late for cure.
While leprosy is not as widespread as before, more than 200,000 new cases annually are reported around the world. In China, 1,000 new cases are reported yearly.