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U.S. Man Diagnosed With HIV Develops Leprosy
Posted 19 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 19 – Ohio doctors report they got a diagnostic surprise when an HIV patient tested positive for the bacterium that causes leprosy. What was even more surprising was that the initial infection most likely occurred decades earlier, from exposure to an armadillo. Soon after starting treatment for the HIV infection, the Ohio man developed lesions on his skin that didn't respond to antibiotic treatment. His doctors eventually confirmed that the lesions were caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria, an infection more commonly known as leprosy. "With the way he presented, typically, any clinician would think of an infection with bacteria, and that's what we were thinking, but he was not responding to regular antibiotic treatment," said Dr. Madhuri Sopirala, the lead author of a letter on the unusual case in the Oct. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. And, it was ... Read more
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Armadillos Give Leprosy to Humans in Southern U.S.: Study
Posted 1 May 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 27 – The prehistoric-looking armadillo, already the state animal of Texas, now has a new claim to fame: leprosy. A new study finds that armadillos carry the bacterium that causes leprosy, and have somehow passed the disease to several dozen humans in the southern United States. "We've confirmed a long-suspected link between leprosy in humans and armadillos," said the study's lead author, Richard Truman, from the Bureau of Primary Health Care at the Health Resources and Services Administration's National Hansen's Disease Program at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Truman said it's important to realize that the risk of contracting leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease) from armadillos "is still infinitesimally small." "The last thing we want is to induce panic in the population and incite a slaughter of armadillos. The best way to combat further infection is ... Read more
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Leprosy -- Erythema Nodosum Leprosum, Leprosy -- Borderline, Leprosy -- Lepromatous, Leprosy -- Dapsone-Resistant, Leprosy -- Tuberculoid, Leprosy -- Dapsone-Sensitive, Bacterial Infection
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rifampin, dapsone, clofazimine, Rifadin, Lamprene, Rimactane, Rifadin IV