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Leprosy, known since antiquity, is a world infectious disease due to Mycobacterium leprae. The transmission is probably via nasal droplets. The clinical range, from tuberculoid to lepromatous leprosy is a result of variation in the cell-mediated immune response, with a chronic inflammation in skin and peripheral nerves. Diagnosis of leprosy is clinical with anesthetic skin lesion and skin smears detect acid fast bacilli. Besides the classification of patients due to the Ridley scale which is clinically useful, WHO proposed is a simple field classification based on the number of skin patches (paucibacillary or multibacillary). Despite an effective multidrug therapy, leprosy has not been eliminated and remains an important health problem.

Investigation for malnutrition, carried out in Peruvian Amazonia, showed 16.4% of malnutrition among 98 children of the Indian Cashibo tribe. This rate is 4 times higher the rate recorded in an indian Brazilian tribe, which is protected and living aside the americano-latin civilization. Some aspects of the acculturation are discussed to explain such a difference.