Autochthonous leprosy in Europe: a case report and literature review

Leprosy is currently uncommon in Europe: the diagnosed cases are almost all imported from endemic areas. We report on an autochthonous case of borderline lepromatous leprosy in a 71-year-old Portuguese woman. The case was complicated by a reversal reaction and then by erythema nodosum leprosum. A literature review identified 18 reported cases of European autochthonous leprosy since 20 0 0; all but one were observed in Mediterranean countries. Therefore, active clusters of leprosy persist in Europe, particularly in Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Italy. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Automated summary

Leprosy remains uncommon in Europe, with most diagnosed cases being imported from endemic areas. However, there are still active clusters of leprosy in Mediterranean countries, including Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Italy. A 71-year-old Portuguese woman was reported to have an autochthonous case of leprosy, complicated by reversal reaction and erythema nodosum leprosum.