Five cases of multibacillary leprosy have been diagnosed in a period of 15 years (1987-2001) at the outpatient Department of Neurology of the University Hospital Innsbruck. All patients presented with dermatological and mild to severe polyneuropathic signs and symptoms. 4/5 patients recovered fully, whereas 1 patient with an initially severe polyneuropathy showed persistent polyneuropathy as long-term sequela. The prevalence of leprosy in the catchment area of the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Innsbruck (comprising the entire province of Tyrol–650,000 inhabitants) is to be calculated as 0.5/1 million. The incidence of newly diagnosed leprosy within this province of Tyrol is 0.04/100,000/year. The aim of the presentation of these 5 patients is–beside the epidemiologic aspect–to alert all neurologists and dermatologists that this disease still exists–despite decreasing prevalence and incidence rates on a global scale; this is of particular importance since neurological long-term sequelae can only be avoided by early diagnosis.
[Multibacillary leprosy in Tyrol]
[Category] 한센병,
[Article Type] article
[Source] pubmed
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