Table 3.
Skin-related neglected tropical diseases
| Neglected tropical disease | Skin involvement* | Example skin findings |
|---|---|---|
| Buruli ulcer | Skin as primary symptom | Painless singular ulcers with undermined edges commonly involving the limbs (Guarner, 2018; Hospers et al., 2005) |
| Leishmaniasis | ||
| Cutaneous | Skin as primary symptom | Pink papules progressing to nodules with central ulceration and indurated borders (Dowlati, 1996) |
| Postkala-azar dermal | Skin as primary symptom | Erythematous hypopigmented macules progressing to plaques or nodules (Zijlstra et al., 2003) |
| Lymphatic filariasis | Skin as primary symptom | Lymphedema of lower limbs and hydrocele (Pani and Srividya, 1995) |
| Onchocerciasis | Skin as primary symptom | Small, widely scattered pruritic papules (acute papular onchodermatitis; Murdoch et al., 1993) |
| Leprosy | Skin as primary symptom | Well-defined hypopigmented or reddish anesthetic patches (tuberculoid; World Health Organization, 2018b) |
| Mycetoma† | Skin as primary symptom | Painless, indurated, subcutaneous nodules (early finding; Hazra et al., 1998) |
| Scabies and other ectoparasites | Skin as primary symptom | Multiple erythematous pruritic papules with excoriations and burrows (scabies; Chosidow, 2000) |
| Yaws | Skin as primary symptom | Large, pruritic, nontender ulcer forming a honey-brown crust (mother yaw; (Farnsworth and Rosen, 2006) |
| Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm) | Skin as primary symptom | Painful dermal papule usually on the lower extremities (Greenaway, 2004) |
| Chagas disease | Common skin involvement | Unilateral edema of eyelid (Romaña's sign), edematous nodules at inoculation site (chagoma; Bern, 2015) |
| Taeniasis and cysticercosis | Common skin involvement | Painless subcutaneous nodules (World Health Organization, 2021b) |
| Arboviruses (Dengue, Chikungunya) | Common skin involvement | Diffuse macular or maculopapular eruptions (Wilder-Smith et al., 2019) |
| Trypanosomiasis | Common skin involvement | Circinate erythematous macules most prominent on the trunk (Cochran and Rosen, 1983) |
| Schistosomiasis | Common skin involvement | Erythematous pruritic papules (Swimmer's itch; Hoeffler, 1974) |
| Soil-transmitted helminthiases | Common skin involvement | Serpiginous skin lesions and eruptions (Arthur and Shelley, 1958; Jelinek et al., 1994) |
| Trachoma | Common skin involvement | Inward rolling of eyelid due to scarring (entropion; West et al., 2001) |
| Snakebite envenoming | Common skin involvement | Localized edema, ecchymosis, and blistering of inoculation site (Gutierrez et al., 2017) |
| Rabies | Rare skin involvement | Diffuse, nonpurpuric, maculopapular rash (Despond et al., 2002) |
| Echinococcosis | Rare skin involvement | Hyperpigmentation with lichenification (Velasco-Tirado et al., 2016) |
| Foodborne trematodiases | Rare skin involvement | Nonmigratory, indurated, subcutaneous nodule (Kodoma et al., 2014) |
⁎
For the category “Skin as primary symptom,” this was defined by WHO listing as a “skin-related NTD” (World Health Organization 2018a).
†
Includes chromoblastomycosis and other deep mycoses.