Hansen's disease
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Hansen's disease
1935–40; named after G. H. Hansen (1841–1912), Norwegian physician and discoverer of leprosy-causing Mycobacterium leprae
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Leprosy, a bacterial infection also known as Hansen’s disease, has been curable by a combination of antibiotics since 1981, and the facility closed in 1999.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Barr was by then known for her superior laboratory skills, having worked on the bacterium that causes Hansen’s disease, commonly called leprosy, as well as other projects.
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2024
More than 8,000 people, mostly Native Hawaiians, perished at Kalaupapa, including Damien, who eventually contracted leprosy, later called Hansen’s disease.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
In fact, leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is extremely rare in the United States.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2023
She makes her stop in El Paso, but she also accepts an invitation to speak at a public meeting of the American Legion in Tucson, Arizona, to raise awareness of Hansen’s disease.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
