Autochthonous feline leprosy caused by Mycobacterium sp. strain Tarwin affecting a cat from the Central Coast of New South Wales.

CASE REPORT: A 5-year-old Domestic Shorthair-cross was presented with a raised, alopecic skin nodule affecting the external surface of the right upper lip with an adjacent second smaller satellite lesion. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed numerous intracellular and extracellular negatively stained bacilli. Histopathology confirmed granulomatous inflammation with multinucleate giant cell formation and abundant intracellular acid-fast bacilli, consistent with a mycobacterial aetiology. PCR testing of the fresh tissue from the satellite lesion and subsequent sequence analysis identified Mycobacterium sp. strain Tarwin. The skin lesion was surgically excised and clarithromycin 62.5 mg twice daily was administered to the cat for 25 days. CONCLUSION: There was no recurrence of the lesion at the time of writing, 16 months after the surgery. This is the second autochthonous case of feline leprosy caused by M. sp. strain Tarwin originating in New South Wales, Australia.

Oral lesions in leprosy revisited: a case report.

There is a scarcity of the histopathologically proven lesions of leprosy in the oral cavity, in the world literature. A 55-year-old man had come with a complaint of asymptomatic nodular lesions in the oral cavity. Cutaneous lesions and peripheral nerve examination were suggestive of lepromatous leprosy. Histopathologic examination of a nodule on the palate demonstrated diffuse macrophagic granulomas and acid-fast bacilli.

Histopathological study of apparently normal oral mucosa in lepromatous leprosy.

In lepromatous leprosy, it may be postulated that apparently normal areas of skin are the probable sites of future extension of the pathological process and the events taking place in these site might represent the earlier stages of such an extension. Thus the present study has been done to evaluate any such changes in the apparently normal oral mucous membrane of the lepromatous leprosy patients, since oral involvement is common in these patients. Twenty two cases of lepromatous leprosy were studied histologically to see changes in apparently normal oral mucosa. Out of the 22 patients, apparently normal skin biopsies were taken from 13 patients and 5 lesional biopsies were taken from the same patients. Apparently normal oral mucosal biopsies were done for all patients. Biopsies of 22 cases of apparently normal oral mucosa did not show granulation formation of acid-fast bacilli histologically. The only change present was mild inflammation.

Laugier-Hunziker pigmentation.

Laugier-Hunziker pigmentation (LHP) is an acquired disorder of hypermelanosis characterized by mucocutaneous hyperpigmentation. LHP may resemble various disorders characterized by mucocutaneous pigmentation. A 58-year-old lady presented with progressively increasing number of variable sized, hyperpigmented macules over the lips, fingers, toes and nails. There was no family history of similar illness. Systemic examination and all relevant investigations were within normal limits. Histopathology of a skin lesion had features consistent with LHP. The diagnosis of LHP must be made only after relevant investigations to rule out any associated systemic involvement. This case further highlights that LHP is not restricted to European countries.

"Were-wolf" cutaneous tuberculosis.

Lupus vulgaris is a variant of cutaneous tuberculosis. Its more destructive and mutilating clinical forms have become rarer in consonance of a general decline of cutaneous tuberculosis. It is rarely seen now in developed countries due to stringent control measures, improved quality of living and effective therapeutic regimens. Misdiagnosis, neglect, or late diagnosis may result in severe, ulcerative and mutilating "wolf eaten" skin lesions. This paper describes four such cases of "were-wolf" cutaneous tuberculosis. Early diagnosis and treatment is important to prevent much of the disfigurement.