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Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) (Mycobacterium
leprae)
1997 Case Definition
The 1997 case definition appearing on this page was previously published in the 1990
MMWR Recommendations and Reports titled Case Definitions for Public Health Surveillance [MMWR 1990;39(RR13)]
(available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00025629.htm).
Thus, the 1990 and 1997 versions of the case definition are identical.
Clinical description
A chronic bacterial disease characterized by the involvement
primarily of skin as well as peripheral nerves and the mucosa of
the upper airway. Clinical forms of Hansen's disease represent a
spectrum reflecting the cellular immune response to Mycobacterium
leprae. The following characteristics are typical of the major
forms of the disease:
- Tuberculoid: one or a few well-demarcated,
hypopigmented, and anesthetic skin lesions, frequently with active,
spreading edges and a clearing center; peripheral nerve swelling
or thickening also may occur
- Lepromatous: a number of erythematous
papules and nodules or an infiltration of the face, hands, and
feet with lesions in a bilateral and symmetrical distribution that
progress to thickening of the skin
- Borderline (dimorphous): skin lesions
characteristic of both the tuberculoid and lepromatous forms
- Indeterminate: early lesions, usually
hypopigmented macules, without developed tuberculoid or lepromatous
features
Laboratory criteria for diagnosis
Case classification
Confirmed: a clinically
compatible case that is laboratory confirmed
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