Nodular lesion of the skin as primary cutaneous tuberculosis.

J Travel Med 2003; 10:306–308. Tuberculosis, one of the oldest diseases known to humankind, continues to be a significant problem in the third millennium.Worldwide, it remains the leading cause of death by a single infectious disease.1,2 Factors responsible for the resurgence of tuberculosis in the low-endemicity countries of Europe and the US include the presence of HIV infection, immigration from areas of high prevalence of the disease, adverse social conditions, development of multiresistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and, mostly, ineffective control programs for high-risk groups.3 Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is of secondary importance from the public health perspective,because it is not contagious; nevertheless, it constitutes up to 40% of all cases. Cutaneous tuberculosis is a rare condition in countries with low endemicity of the disease, and thus represents a serious diagnostic challenge to clinicians.4 We describe a case of primary cutaneous tuberculosis following inapparent infection with M. tuberculosis acquired through the skin.