h a n s e ns d i s e a s e m i m i c k i n g a s y s t e m i c v a s c u l i t i s

Hansen's disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae , classically presents with cutaneous and neurolo - gical manifestations. Rheumatologic manifesta - tions present in 1 to 5% of the patients, and include arthritis, arthralgias, Charcot arthropathy, erythe - ma nodosum and vasculitis. We report a case of a 86 year old woman with polyarthritis, subcuta - neous nodules and leg ulcers whose differential diag nosis included primary vasculitis and diffuse connective tissue diseases and ended to be leprosy in a non endemic country.