AUTHOR=Chen Huan , Jiang Yumeng , Shi Ying , Zhang Wenyue , Jiang Haiqin , Wang Zhenzhen , Zeng Rui , Wang Hongsheng 

TITLE=Fever of unknown origin, blood and cerebrospinal fluid involvement: a leprosy case report

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1450490

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2024.1450490

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves, it can also invade deeper tissues and organs, including mucous membranes, lymph nodes, testes, eyes, and internal organs. Severe cases can result in deformities and disabilities. We encountered the case of a 39-year-old male with unexplained fever, headache and rash. The patient’s lesions were taken for histopathological examination and slit skin smear analysis. Further, the patient was detected of <italic>Mycobacterium leprae (M.leprae)</italic> nucleic acid sequences in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma, and <italic>M.leprae</italic> gene targets in the skin lesion tissue and blood. The patient was eventually diagnosed with multibacillary leprosy and type II leprosy reaction. These results suggest the possibility of bacteremia in patients with leprosy to some extent, and observation implies the potential invasion of CSF by <italic>M.leprae</italic> or its genetic material.</p>