Unmasking leprosy: an unusual immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in a patient infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) has become a frequent and potentially severe complication after initiation of following antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). IRIS can unmask a previously clinically silent infection, such as tuberculosis, as recently described for Mycobacterium infections. We describe a case in a patient from Côte d'Ivoire living in France in whom skin papular lesions developed after initiation of ART. These lesions were associated with microbiologically proven leprosy. Thus, latent leprosy can appear as IRIS, and leprosy-associated IRIS should be considered in HIV-infected patients from areas endemic for leprosy.