02276nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001653001400042653002500056653002000081653002800101100001400129700001500143700001600158700001100174700001100185700002100196245015700217856007700374300000800451490000700459520155400466022001402020       2016                            d10aIndonesia10aHelminth coinfection10aType of leprosy10aType 2 leprosy reaction1 aOktaria S1 aEffendi EH1 aIndriatmi W1 aHees C1 aThio H1 aSjamsoe-Daili ES00aSoil-transmitted helminth infections and leprosy: a cross-sectional study of the association between two major neglected tropical diseases in Indonesia.  uhttp://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-016-1593-0  a2580 v163 a<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>The clinical spectrum of leprosy is dependent on the host immune response against Mycobacterium leprae or the newly discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis antigen. Helminth infections have been shown to affect the development of several diseases through immune regulation and thus may play a role in the clinical manifestations of leprosy and leprosy reactions. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportion of helminth infections in leprosy and its association with the type of leprosy and type 2 leprosy reaction (T2R).</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>History or episode of T2R was obtained and direct smear, formalin-ether sedimentation technique, and Kato-Katz smear were performed on 20 paucibacillary (PB) and 61 multibacillary (MB) leprosy participants.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>There are more helminth-positive participants in MB leprosy compared to PB (11/61 versus 0/20, p = 0.034) and in T2R participants compared to non-T2R (8/31 versus 3/50, p = 0.018).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Our results suggest that soil-transmitted helminth infections may have a role in the progression to a more severe type of leprosy, as well as the occurrence of T2R. These findings could serve as a fundamental base for clinicians to perform parasitological feces examination in patients who have MB leprosy and severe recurrent reactions to rule out the possibility of helminth infection. Further secondary confirmation of findings are needed to support these conclusions.</p>
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