Abstract
Leprosy reactions are among the main causes of physical disability resulting from an infectious disease and can culminate in irreversible physical disabilities, therefore they should be considered a clinical emergency, as well as the elucidation of its cause. Co-infections are considered one of the main triggering causes of leprosy reactions, aggravating and maintaining these reactions for longer in these patients. After reporting a high rate of Bartonella henselae infection in patients with chronic type 2 leprosy reaction, 19/47 (40.4 %) compared to the control group, 9/50 (18.0 %), p = 0.0149, we conducted this study to observe the rate of infection by Bartonella sp. in a group of patients with chronic type 1 leprosy reactions. Blood samples from 14 patients with chronic type 1 leprosy reactions were analyzed by molecular and microbiological tests and compared. The results showed that, like patients with chronic type 2 leprosy reactions, this group of patients has a high proportion of B. henselae infection 6/14 (42.9 %), p = 0.88. We conclude that these bacteria can trigger chronic leprosy reactions and should be investigated in all chronic leprosy reactions patients. Summary Line: Our results showed that, like patients with chronic type 2 leprosy reactions, this group of patients has the same proportion of B. henselae DNA detection 6/14 (42.9 %), p = 0.88.