Abstract

Leprosy was first recorded in 600 bc in India. Europe saw its first cases in the fourteenth century. The worldwide incidence is falling, but the disease can still present in the most unexpected places: this is a report of the first case of leprosy presenting to an emergency department in Northern Ireland. It is important for physicians in both community and hospital medicine to have a high index of suspicion for leprosy in patients with chronic skin conditions who were born outside the UK or other developed countries.