The clinical trend of leprosy from 2000-2016 in Kaohsiung, a major international harbor city in Taiwan, where leprosy is almost extinguished.

Leprosy is a skin granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae with social stigmata. With improvement of medicine and hygiene in Taiwan, the incidence is very low up to one dozen per year, however, leprosy has never been eradicated due to increased numbers of immigrants from southeast Asia. This study aims to characterize the clinical and histopathological features of patients with leprosy in the context of near elimination. 15 cases of pathologically proven leprosy were identified from 2000-2016 in Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. The clinical presentations, demographic details, treatment responses, and disease outcome were reviewed. The mean age was 46 years (range: 26 to 73 years). Eight cases were native Taiwanese, while six and one cases were foreign workers from Indonesia and, Thailand, respectively. The diagnosis was made 3-6 months in average after skin lesions occurred. The most common clinical subtype was lepromatous leprosy (n=7). 10 patients were multibacillus microscopically. Three cases were deported. The remaining 12 cases received Dapsone and Rifampicin for 12 months without recurrence to date. In the near leprosy-eradicated country, early diagnosis and physician vigilance are critical in disease control. Immigrants from endemic countries required strict and professional dermatological examination and regular follow up.