• John P Bossalini, Justin P Bandino, and Nathanial R Miletta.
• Transitional Year Department of the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium. 3551 Roger Brooke Dr, Fort Sam Houston, TX.
• Mil Med. 2019 Oct 1; 184 (9-10): 561-564.

AbstractLepromatous leprosy represents a cutaneous infection by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Once considered a common, fatal disease, leprosy has become increasingly rare with modern, inexpensive antibiotics. Most healthcare workers will never encounter a case of leprosy due to the low prevalence of the disease. However, military physicians, through deployments and contact with foreign-born servicemembers, are one of the first lines of defense against this disease. With an unknown method of transmission and an insidiously slow replication, it can take years for the disease to fully manifest. There are multiple cutaneous manifestations associated with the infection that can mimic other infectious etiologies, stalling appropriate diagnosis and treatment. To determine which treatment course is recommended requires evaluation of disease dissemination and the level of host immune response. As the incidence of reported leprosy cases continues to decline, disease education on diagnosis and treatment is imperative to enhance early detection and intervention. Understanding the populations at risk for leprosy and its insidious presentation will aid the practitioner in minimizing disease burden for both U.S. servicemembers and our foreign partners.© Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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