Faculty of Medicine, University of Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia.
Turk J Pediatr. 2023;65(5):862-867. doi: 10.24953/turkjped.2023.138.
Leprosy in children is a strong indicator of the recent failure of leprosy control and disease transmission programs. For twenty-two years, leprosy has been declared eliminated as a public health hazard, yet new cases continue to emerge in endemic areas. The new case detection rate among the child population was recorded at 4.4 per million children. Because of their underdeveloped or neonatal immunity and exposure to intrafamilial contacts, children tend to be the most vulnerable population.
We present a case of the borderline lepromatous type of leprosy in a 9-year-old Indonesian male patient with the chief complaint of three stiff fingers on his left hand that began four years ago and hypopigmented patches on the back and buttocks that began five years ago. In this case, there was a history of leprosy in his mothers sister, who had died. Leprosy in the patient was suspected of possibly being transmitted from his mothers sister who had intense contact with the patient. The results of bacteriological examination with Ziehl- Neelsen staining of tissue scrapings found acid-fast bacilli. He was treated with a multibacillary multidrug regimen for 12 months. Periodical observations after the patient received the treatment revealed no new spots on the patient`s skin, some of the previous hypopigmented patches seemed to fade, especially those on the back.
In the absence of an effective vaccine, early diagnosis and treatment are critical in preventing disability and deformity and reducing the physical, psychosocial, and economic burden of the disease.
儿童麻风病是麻风病控制和疾病传播项目近期失败的一个强有力指标。二十二年以来，麻风病已被宣布为“消除公共卫生危害”，但在流行地区仍不断出现新病例。儿童人口中新病例检出率为每百万儿童 4.4 例。由于儿童免疫力尚未发育完全或处于新生儿期，并且与家庭内接触，儿童往往是最脆弱的人群。
我们报告了一例 9 岁印度尼西亚男性边界型麻风病病例，主要症状为左手的三个僵硬手指，发病于四年前，以及背部和臀部的色素减退斑块，发病于五年前。在本例中，其母亲的妹妹有麻风病史，已去世。患者的麻风病可能是由与其有密切接触的母亲的妹妹传播而来。组织刮片的齐尔-尼尔森染色细菌学检查结果发现了抗酸杆菌。他接受了为期 12 个月的多菌型多药治疗。患者接受治疗后的定期观察显示，其皮肤没有出现新的斑点，以前的一些色素减退斑块似乎有所消退，尤其是背部的斑块。
在没有有效疫苗的情况下，早期诊断和治疗对于预防残疾和畸形以及减轻疾病的身体、心理社会和经济负担至关重要。
