Leprosy treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding: A case report and brief review of literature

Leprosy is a chronic disease which primarily affects the skin, mucous membranes and peripheral nerves due to Mycobacterium leprae. It is now infrequent in Europe and is rarely reported during pregnancy. Leprosy can be exacerbated during pregnancy, and without treatment it can permanently damage the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Therefore, it is important to treat leprosy during pregnancy. This article describes a patient with multibacillary lepromatous leprosy who was treated with multidrug therapy during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The patient delivered a healthy baby girl without perinatal complications, and the infant's growth and development were normal during the 1‐year follow‐up period. Multidrug therapy consisting of dapsone, rifampicine, and clofazimine is highly effective for people with leprosy and considered safe, both for the mother and the child. Antileprosy drugs are excreted into human milk but there is no report of adverse effects except for skin discoloration of the infant due to clofazimine. Multidrug therapy for leprosy patients should be continued unchanged during pregnancy and breastfeeding.