Multibacillary leprosy in a migrant from Afghanistan: A disease not to be forgotten

Becker, Sören L.; Mawlood, D.; Janssen, Anjo J.W.M.; Janssen, Eva; Vogt, Thomas; Müller, Cornelia

doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2017.07.004

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In this study, we extracted data from six reports with details on eight leprosy patients diagnosed in Germany between 1994 and 2016 [42][43][44][45][46][47]. There was only one suspected autochthonous case reported, with the remaining 7 (87.5%) imported from countries across Asia.…”

Section: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycobacterium leprae transmission characteristics during the declining stages of leprosy incidence: A systematic review

et al. 2021

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Background Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. As incidence begins to decline, the characteristics of new cases shifts away from those observed in highly endemic areas, revealing potentially important insights into possible ongoing sources of transmission. We aimed to investigate whether transmission is driven mainly by undiagnosed and untreated new leprosy cases in the community, or by incompletely treated or relapsing cases. Methodology/Principal findings A literature search of major electronic databases was conducted in January, 2020 with 134 articles retained out of a total 4318 records identified (PROSPERO ID: CRD42020178923). We presented quantitative data from leprosy case records with supporting evidence describing the decline in incidence across several contexts. BCG vaccination, active case finding, adherence to multidrug therapy and continued surveillance following treatment were the main strategies shared by countries who achieved a substantial reduction in incidence. From 3950 leprosy case records collected across 22 low endemic countries, 48.3% were suspected to be imported, originating from transmission outside of the country. Most cases were multibacillary (64.4%) and regularly confirmed through skin biopsy, with 122 cases of suspected relapse from previous leprosy treatment. Family history was reported in 18.7% of cases, while other suspected sources included travel to high endemic areas and direct contact with armadillos. None of the countries included in the analysis reported a distinct increase in leprosy incidence in recent years. Conclusions/Significance Together with socioeconomic improvement over time, several successful leprosy control programmes have been implemented in recent decades that led to a substantial decline in incidence. Most cases described in these contexts were multibacillary and numerous cases of suspected relapse were reported. Despite these observations, there was no indication that these cases led to a rise in new secondary cases, suggesting that they do not represent a large ongoing source of human-to-human transmission.

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Section: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycobacterium leprae transmission characteristics during the declining stages of leprosy incidence: A systematic review

et al. 2021

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“…Leprosy has become rare in Europe since the second half of the 20 th century due to the era of multi-drug therapy. For example in Germany, where leprosy is a notifiable disease, only 29 cases were reported between 2001 and 2015 [3]. The few cases diagnosed in Europe are almost all imported from endemic areas [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autochthonous leprosy in Europe: a case report and literature review

Beauvillain

Lok

Joachim

et al. 2021

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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“…Nineteen papers published between 2009 and 2018 were included in the review, accounting for 280 patients reported by five nationwide reports [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 22 , 23 ] ( Table 2 ), 14 case reports [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], and three case series described by single centers [ 7 , 38 , 39 ] ( Table 3 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Naturally, the chronology of the published cases is not the same as that of our case series, as many papers referred to cases observed years before the publication. The majority of the papers were from Italy [ 7 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 31 , 35 , 37 ], Spain [ 9 , 29 , 30 , 38 , 39 ], and the United Kingdom (UK) [ 26 , 32 , 33 ], whereas Portugal [ 22 ], France [ 24 ], Germany [ 34 ], Greece [ 23 ], and Denmark [ 8 ] contributed with one paper each. The continents of origin were South and Central America for 144 patients (51%), Africa (79 patients, 28%), and Asia (55 patients, 20%).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leprosy in Refugees and Migrants in Italy and a Literature Review of Cases Reported in Europe between 2009 and 2018

et al. 2020

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Leprosy is a chronic neglected infectious disease that affects over 200,000 people each year and causes disabilities in more than four million people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The disease can appear with a wide spectrum of clinical forms, and therefore the clinical suspicion is often difficult. Refugees and migrants from endemic countries affected by leprosy can remain undiagnosed in Europe due to the unpreparedness of clinicians. We retrospectively describe the characteristics of 55 refugees/migrants with a diagnosis of leprosy established in Italy from 2009 to 2018. Continents of origin were Africa (42%), Asia (40%), and South and Central America (18%). The symptoms reported were skin lesions (91%), neuropathy (71%), edema (7%), eye involvement (6%), fever (6%), arthritis (4%), and lymphadenopathy (4%). Seven patients (13%) had irreversible complications. Overall, 35% were relapses and 66% multibacillary leprosy. Furthermore, we conducted a review of 17 case reports or case series and five nationwide reports, published in the same decade, describing 280 migrant patients with leprosy in Europe. In Europe, leprosy is a rare chronic infectious disease, but it has not completely disappeared. Diagnosis and treatment of leprosy in refugees and migrants from endemic countries are a challenge. European guidelines for this neglected disease in this high-risk population would be beneficial.

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Multibacillary leprosy in a migrant from Afghanistan: A disease not to be forgotten

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Mycobacterium leprae transmission characteristics during the declining stages of leprosy incidence: A systematic review

Mycobacterium leprae transmission characteristics during the declining stages of leprosy incidence: A systematic review

Autochthonous leprosy in Europe: a case report and literature review

Leprosy in Refugees and Migrants in Italy and a Literature Review of Cases Reported in Europe between 2009 and 2018

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