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Infective dermatitis represents a severe form of recurrent eczematous skin change that presents in childhood. It was first described in 1966. Later, the association of infective dermatitis with an underlying human T-cell lymphotropic virus infection was recognized. Chronic infective dermatitis is associated with an increased risk of malignant transformation and may be an early sign of underlying leukemia or T-cell lymphoma, or both. Infective dermatitis is endemic in parts of South America (Peru, Colombia, Brazil), parts of Africa, the Caribbean, and southwestern Japan. Treatment is difficult, and not infrequently cases, are refractory to therapy.

During the twelve years of follow-up, the clinical manifestation evolved to marked skin looseness, most predominant in flexural regions, illustrating the clinical hallmark of granulomatous slack skin, long after first histological abnormalities were observed.