Rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium leprae in an elderly leprosy patient in the people’s Republic of China

Abstract

The reported number of registered leprosy patients worldwide declined with the introduction of multidrug therapy. However, the emergence of rifampicin resistance in leprosy patients engenders difficulties for an individual patient, and its dissemination could pose a threat to leprosy control. This study reports an elderly patient who was diagnosed with rifampicin-resistant lepromatous leprosy. This case indicates that inadequate treatment and poor compliance may eventually result in rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium leprae and clinical relapse.

Keywords:

• leprosy
• rifampicin
• drug resistance
• elderly patient

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Number 30972651) and a fund from the Key Clinical Program of the Ministry of Health (Number 2010-2012-125).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.