Hansen’s disease is a contagious disease of chronic course caused by Mycobacterium leprae that has tropism for the skin, mucous membranes and peripheral nerves. Other organs may also be compromised.

Because the consequences, degree of disability and deformity that occurs, are indispensable early diagnosis and treatment, allowing an endemic disease control.

In the field of pediatric dermatology leprosy remains a little described and undervalued in daily practice, so it becomes a diagnostic challenge because of the diversity of clinical manifestations that may occur, making necessary a thorough skin and neural examination in all children presenting suspicious lesions suggestive and an infectious source [1].

The total number of leprosy patients was 369, and of these 11 were in pediatric age (2.98%).

The summary of findings stated in Table 1.

Pediatric patients suffering from leprosy were 11, which corresponds to 2.98% of the total infected patients (369), lower than in other series, as Terencio de las Aguas (7.7%) and Fakhouri et al (17.3%) [1-5].

Among the children affected, males predominated coinciding with a national study of another service of dermatology; other authors did not find any differences in sex [4,5].

Ages of children affected ranged from 3-16 years, with school children (6-12 years) and adolescents the hardest hit, coinciding with the literature reviewed [1].

The BI ranged from negative to 3+, with 5 positive cases (45%), is inconsistent with the literature in which the positivity percentage is lower (2%). This is because the predominant number of MB cases in our study (6/11), opposite as usually PB cases described more frecquent in children [5,6].

Evolution was good in all cases and two developed leproreactions.

The elementary dermatological more frecquent lesion was a macule, with facial location, and in exposed areas, which is the most frequent site of occurrence in children with leprosy in other countries [7].

Six of eleven cases had a family contact. In most series this is the constant [1,3,8].

In developing countries, where leprosy is a public health problem, it is well accepted that children below five years are more likely to develop it than adults. About 17.13% of all cases of leprosy in India are in children under 15 years. Van Beers et al. show that the risk of a child developing leprosy is 4 times greater in contact with close people and 9 times higher among household contacts. The maximum risk is observed when the contact is Multibacillary and intradomicilliary [3].

Leprosy in childhood presents with a variety of clinical and histological manifestations, which necessitate a thorough skin examination in every child with suggestive or suspicious skin lesions and an infectious source (Figs 1ab and 2). Many skin lesions are usually asymptomatic and often mimic other dermatologic pictures [1,3].

Leprosy in children is more common than we tend to think, especially in endemic areas, as is our country [9]. In patients with less than five years, the disease is very rare [10].