Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Lepromatous Leprosy Coinfection.

Abstract

Editor's Abstract: Simultaneous occurrence of leprosy and pulmonary tuberculosis is reported infrequently in the modern era. We report a case of pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed in patient being treated with glucocorticoids for complications of leprosy (type II reaction). Physicians should recognize that the leprosy patients treated with glucocorticoid may develop tuberculosis.

Introduction: Leprosy and tuberculosis are two pathogens, which have been identified as infecting humans 9 000 and 4 000 years ago, respectively. They remain endemic in Madagascar, and the annual new case detection rates of leprosy and tuberculosis were 8 per 100 000 and 233 per 100 000, respectively. So, 2–6 cases of concomitant infection per 100 000 populations should be detected, in one year. However, no report of concomitant infection was identified in Madagascar. We aim to report a case of 49-year-old man who presented with pulmonary tuberculosis and lepromatous leprosy coinfection.