Leprosy Mailing List – April 23, 2026
Ref.: (LML) Infolep monthly overview of new publications on leprosy. March, 2026.
From: Elizabeth Talatu Williams, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to share with you the March 2026 edition of the Infolep Newsletter, bringing together a collection of new publications, case reports, and global developments shaping the leprosy field.
This month’s featured articles highlight advances in digital innovation, clinical reasoning, and patient-centred care. Key contributions include an independent assessment of the WHO Skin NTDs mobile application for leprosy detection, new insights into neuropathy and demyelinating patterns, and a scoping review exploring healing processes in chronic diseases. Additional studies examine mental health outcomes following treatment, stigma in endemic settings, and the development of interactive dashboards to strengthen disease monitoring and control.
The case reports featured in this issue reflect the ongoing diagnostic and clinical challenges in leprosy, including atypical presentations, delayed diagnoses, and complex reactions. Together, they underscore the importance of early detection, clinical awareness, and sustained treatment adherence.
We also highlight an important global development, with Chile becoming the first country in the Americas to be verified by WHO for the elimination of leprosy. In addition, we draw your attention to upcoming global events, including the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in Geneva and the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Nairobi, which will bring together stakeholders to advance global health priorities.
We hope this March edition provides valuable insights, supports your work, and reinforces our shared commitment to improving leprosy care and reducing stigma worldwide.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like access to full-text articles not available through Infolep, or if you would like support with literature searches.
Warm regards,
Elizabeth Talatu Williams
www.leprosy-information.org
info@infolep.org
Featured Research Spotlight
Independent assessment of the WHO Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases application for leprosy detection
Deps P, Amorim BBC, Repsold T, et al. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. Pan American Health Organization. 2026.
Understanding healing: A comparative analysis in chronic diseases with leprosy—A scoping review
Darlong J, Kim J, Goswami S, et al. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Public Library of Science (PLoS). 2026; 20 (3): 1-14.
Mental Health Burden and Associated Factors Among Patients With Leprosy After Treatment Completion in South West Delhi
Wadhwani S, Rasheed N, Rasania SK. Cureus. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 2026; 18 (4): 1-13
User-Centered Design and Evaluation of an Interactive Dashboard to Support Leprosy Monitoring and Control in Brazil
Silva AB, Vilar de Andrade HG, Dourado RA, et al. Revista Eletrônica de Iniciação Científica em Computação. Sociedade Brasileira de Computacao - SB. 2026.
Stigma associated with leprosy among patients, contacts, and the general population in an endemic region of Brazil.
Cruz P, Miot H, Talhari C, et al. Anais brasileiros de dermatologia. 2026; 101 (2): 1-11.
Other New Publications
Feel free to contact us to receive full-text versions if these cannot be found through the Infolep portal.
Leprosy neuropathy and demyelinating impairment: How should we interpret this neurophysiological pattern?
dos Santos DF, Carvalho IR, Borges IS, et al. PLOS One. Public Library of Science (PLoS). 2026; 21 (4): 1-13.
Demyelinating Leprosy Neuropathy: An Unusual and Misleading Electrophysiological Pattern.
Foucard C, Jachiet M, Viala K, et al. Muscle & nerve. 2026; 73 (5): 898-905.
NEGLECTED BODIES AND STIGMATIZED TERRITORIES: THE BIOPOLITICS OF LEPROSY IN THE BRAZILIAN SEMIARID THROUGH THE LENS OF SOCIAL VULNERABILITY
Paulo Roberto Ramos, Natália Gomes de Carvalho, Kayla Caianne Gonçalves Alves, et al. Journal of Education, Science and Health – JESH. 2026; 6 (2): 1-18.
Impact of COVID-19 on adverse drug reactions in leprosy patients in Sri Lanka
Kahawita IP, Karawita UG, Nissanka NAKAI, et al. Academia Drug Development and Pharmacotherapy. Academia.edu Journals. 2026; 2 (1): 1-9
Evaluation of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Detecting Subclinical Neuroplastic Changes in Newly Diagnosed Leprosy Patients without Peripheral Neuritis
Singh A, Mani S, Krishna A. Physical rehabilitation and recreational health technologies. Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture. 2026; 11 (1): 52-60.
The Impact of Incomplete Notification Forms on Leprosy Surveillance
Goncalves LESC, Milanski AS, Truppel TVS, et al. The 6th International Congress on Health Innovation—INOVATEC 2025. MDPI. 2026; 137 (1): 84.
The Use of a Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) Monitoring Calendar as a Medium to Support Medication Adherence in Leprosy Patients
Marianti Agustina Gudipun, Yoany Maria Vianney Bita Aty , Maria Selestina Sekunda, et al. Viva Medika: Jurnal Kesehatan, Kebidanan dan Keperawatan. Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat Universitas Harapan Bangsa. 2026; 19 (1): 9-18.
The Great Imitator: A Case Series of Leprosy Mimicking Other Diseases
Maitri Patel, Ritu Singh, Roshni Vahora, et al. GAIMS J Med Sci. 2026; 6 (1): 1-4.
Quality of life in Indian people affected by leprosy? A systematic review from the country with the highest burden of leprosy cases
Govindharaj P, Agrawal S, Ramasamy S, et al. Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Oxford University Press (OUP). 2026.
Unveiling leprosy through machines: a review of artificial intelligence in a neglected tropical disease
Goswami A, Verma S, Marak A. Portuguese Journal of Dermatology and Venereology. Publicidad Permanyer, SLU. 2026; 84 (1): 1-8.
Lewis Y (Ley) orchestrates leukocyte trafficking and inflammatory remodeling in leprosy patients from the Brazilian Amazon
Almeida S, da Cruz EDRM, de Loiola RDSP, et al. Immunologic Research. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 2026; 74 (1): 1-14.
Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric Sequelae After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Narrative Review and Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study of Neurofilament Light Chain and GFAP
Guzmán Priego CG, Villalpando JMG, Baeza Flores GDC, et al. Brain Sciences. MDPI AG. 2026; 16 (3): 1-19.
Diagnosis and therapeutic outcomes of biopsy-confirmed Pure Neuritic Leprosy: A two-decade experience
Sarkar S, Miraclin T A, Jayachandran R, et al. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Public Library of Science (PLoS). 2026; 20 (4): 1-12.
HOW SUITABLE ARE NDO-LID AND PGL-I IN RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR SCREENING OF LEPROSY? A REVIEW OF DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES
Husodho GVP, Kumalasari ADA, Faiza AH. Jurnal Kedokteran Diponegoro (Diponegoro Medical Journal). Institute of Research and Community Services Diponegoro University (LPPM UNDIP). 2026; 15 (2): 129-136.
The oral health status of Filipinos affected by leprosy in a Philippine tertiary care center
Chung AT, Marquez MLU, Baghban GS, et al. Leprosy Review. Lepra. 2026; 97 (1): 1-11.
Descriptions of the natural history of erythema nodosum leprosum to inform clinical classification - A semi-systematic review.
De Barros B, Lambert S, Dias V, et al. PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 2026; 20 (3): 1-15.
Case Reports
Delayed diagnosis and poor treatment compliance remain key challenges in leprosy control: a case of lepromatous leprosy with type 2 reaction
Thilakarathna M, Uthayarajan N, Siriwardena C, et al. BMC Infectious Diseases. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 2026.
Bilateral Lower Limb Sensory Motor Neuropathy as the Initial Manifestation of Borderline Tuberculoid Leprosy: A Diagnostic Challenge
Kumar BN, Singh M. Annals of African Medicine. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). 2026.
Macrocheilia Revealing Lepromatous Leprosy: A Case Report
Sidi FM, Zemmez Y, Frikh R, et al. Scholars Journal of Medical Case Reports. SASPR Edu International Pvt. Ltd. 2026; 14 (04): 652-652.
Type 2 Lepra Reaction Presenting as Pyrexia of Unknown Origin: A Case Report
Rajbarath, Purn Pragya, S. S. Singh, et al. International Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Research. 2026; 7 (1): 2584-2585.
Atypical leprosy revisited: adding to the expanding spectrum—a case series
Shinde G, Dhurat R, Hassan A, et al. Leprosy Review. Lepra. 2026; 97 (1): 1-8.
Indeterminate leprosy: case report and literature review
Luh Putu Venny Cempaka Sari, Gusti Ayu Agung Dwi Karmila, Herman Saputra, et al. Indonesia Journal of Biomedical Science. 2026; 20 (1): 12-17.
Type 2 Lepra Reaction Following Antituberculosis Treatment Initiation in an Elderly Male With Coexisting Hansen's Disease: A Case Report
Villanueva CAG, Ortiz YRH, Mojica WP, et al. Respirology Case Reports. Wiley. 2026; 14 (3): 1-4.
A Rare Case of Leprosy in Sweden Mimicking Drug Eruption
Alvergren G, Hammarström H, Polyza S, et al. Acta Dermato-Venereologica. MJS Publishing, Medical Journals Sweden AB. 2026.
Latest News
Chile becomes the first country in the Americas to be verified by WHO for the elimination of leprosy [World Health Organization]
278 proposals received by calls' closure [Global Health EDCTP3]
AI-supported blood test could enable earlier leprosy detection [ICT & Health Global]
First skeletal evidence of leprosy in British red squirrels [Labmate]
New leprosy treatment facility in BARMM now open [Philstar Global]
Leprosy cases surge, deformities triple in Tamil Nadu amid funding cuts by Union government [The Times of India]
18 people diagnosed with leprosy in Chitwan [Khabarhub]
Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award: Optimising interventions for impact [Wellcome Trust]
UP Cabinet Approves Amendment To The 'Beggary Prevention Act' [The Free Press Journal]
One man, 5,000 km, one mission: running to rewrite the narrative on leprosy [The Hindu]
Niger leprosy patients get motorised beds [Punch]
Nwoya struggles to manage TB, Leprosy as cases surge [Daily Monitor]
Lepra spotlights women leading fight against leprosy stigma [Eastern Eye]
Leprosy cases in Nagaland confined to three districts [The Morning Express]
Upcoming Events
World Health Summit (WHS) Regional Meeting 2026
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Theme: Reimagining Africa’s Health Systems: Innovation, Integration, and Interdependence
The WHS Regional Meeting 2026, hosted by Aga Khan University, will be held from April 27–29 at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Leaders, innovators, and changemakers will gather to explore solutions that strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance global health progress.
Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Theme: One World for Health
The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 19–27 May 2025. Proceedings will be webcast live from the WHO web page. Simultaneous interpretation will be available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Links
Info Hansen - An innovative hub for knowledge sharing about Hansen's Disease
ALLF - Official website of the Association des Léprologues de Langue Française
LML - Leprosy Mailing List - a free moderated email list that allows all persons interested in leprosy to share ideas, information, experiences and questions
InfoNTD - Information on cross-cutting issues in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
ILEP newsletter archive
GPZL newsletter subscription
WHO Goodwill Ambassador's Leprosy Bulletin
Leprosy Review
Leprosy Review Repository (1928-2001)
Fontilles Revista de Leprología
Indian Journal of Leprosy
Hansenologia Internationalis
HARP - Hansen's Disease Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles
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