The leprosy Christ healed was similar to what is today called Hansen's Disease, a detestable infection that can greatly disfigure and destroy the human body. It is not as contagious as scarlet fever, but it can be transmitted through an infected person's secretions. Biblical leprosy covered several skin diseases and even fungus in walls and clothing, but the disease Christ healed took two main forms. The lepromatous type is by far the more dangerous. It begins with a discolored patch of skin that spreads widely, eyebrows may disappear, and spongy, tumor-like swellings grow on the face and body. The disease becomes systemic, attacking internal organs, and tissue between the bones of the hands and feet deteriorates, leaving marked deformity. Untreated, it can last ten to twenty years and end in death. The milder tuberculoid type tends to stay limited, and even untreated cases heal completely in one to three years. Israelites feared leprosy for the physical damage and for the strict isolation laws that made patients feel like feared outcasts. Because it was believed that only God could heal it, Christ's healing of lepers proved who He was. The disease also illustrates sin: both start small, grow relentlessly until they infect the whole person, cause social ruin, and in the end destroy their victims. Leprosy represents God's view of sin as detestable, deforming, and unclean.