Leprosy Plaques Following the Course of A Single Peripheral Nerve: A Rare Presentation

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The skin lesions can present as few plaques in the paucibacillary type and multiple plaques and nodules in the multibacillary type. A slit skin smear is the most common procedure worldwide to make the diagnosis. Linear presentation is one of the uncommon presentations of leprosy. A case of 17-year-old male with multiple plaques arranged in a linear pattern extending from the left hand up to the elbow is presented in this case report. The presence of anaesthesia over the plaques with biopsy showing epitheloid granulomas proved the diagnosis of Hansen's disease. This case highlights the rare form of leprosy, which might prove to be an obstacle for sustaining leprosy eliminated status due to delay in diagnosis. This case report also suggests the need to explore genetic pattern of inheritance involved in the linear form of leprosy.