Cardiff's Dr Ausama Atwan has issued warnings to British doctors about the danger of misdiagnosing leprosy. The disease is extremely rare in Europe, however a small number of cases occur every year in people who have lived overseas, particularly in South Asia.
Dr Atwan will outline the concerns at the Glasgow conference of the British Association of Dermatologists this week.
He said the team were not out to alarm people "but it is certainly something that doctors should be mindful of if they encounter patients, especially those originally from endemic countries, with persistent or unexplained lesions, changes to skin pigmentation and sensation."
Atwan said "it may easily be misdiagnosed and consequently pose future health risks for patients if missed".
He has been widely quoted today in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Mirror and The Daily Mail.