AUTHOR=Santana Marcela Araujo de Oliveira , da Costa Willian Vargas Tenório , Celestino Isadora Costa , dos Santos Diogo Fernandes , Dornelas Bruno de Carvalho , Pavelka Matthew Martin , Luppi Andrea De Martino , Goulart Isabela Maria Bernardes 

TITLE=Fever of Unknown Origin, Wasting Syndrome and Bone Marrow Involvement: A Leprosy Case Report

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.916319

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.916319

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Mycobacterium leprae</italic>, the etiologic agent of leprosy, is an acid-fast-staining and slow-growing bacilli that infect macrophages and Schwann cells individually or through forming globi. The clinical presentation of leprosy is broad and depends on the host immune response. We report a case of a 42-year-old Brazilian man presenting with fever of unknown origin (FUO), anemia, wasting syndrome, and neuropathy. The diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy was made after an extensive investigation revealed the presence of <italic>M. leprae</italic> in the bone marrow. Bone marrow involvement in leprosy is rare and some authors believe the presence of <italic>M. leprae</italic> in the bone marrow can act as a reservoir of the disease facilitating future relapses. It is important to investigate bone marrow involvement in leprosy, especially when the patient presents with cytopenias and positive epidemiologic history.</p>