Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV
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J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol · Jul 2019
ReviewPosition statement: LEPROSY: Diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) or Mycobacterium lepromatosis (M. lepromatosis). In Europe, most of the leprosy cases are imported. However, occasionally a case is diagnosed in one of the old endemic foci. Leprosy is often not suspected because it is no longer emphasized in the medical curricula. Attention shifted from leprosy to tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infections in the late 20th century, whereby the WHO leprosy programme was toned down in the conviction that leprosy was all but eliminated. The result of unawareness is a harmful doctor's delay. ⋯ This is a position statement.