01828nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653002100080653002600101653000900127653001000136653002100146653002100167653001100188653001200199653001600211653002500227653001500252653003000267100001200297700001500309700001500324700001200339700001400351245016200365300001000527490000700537520092000544022001401464       1998                            d  c1998 Nov10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAge Distribution10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAsia10aChild10aChild, Preschool10aEndemic Diseases10aHumans10aleprosy10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aPrevalence10aSeroepidemiologic Studies1 aIzumi S1 aBudiawan T1 aMatsuoka M1 aSaeki K1 aKawatsu K00a[Present situation of leprosy in highly endemic area of tropical Asia--a seroepidemiological study of Mycobacterium leprae infection in general inhabitants].  a401-80 v673 a<p>One of the most important unsolved problems in epidemiology of leprosy is the heterogeneous geographic distribution of the disease. There are highly endemic area called "Pocket" in the endemic countries. Little is known why leprosy is so endemic in the area. We conducted, therefore, an epidemiological study on M. leprae infection and distribution of leprosy bacilli in the environment by using serological and molecular biological techniques. It was found that considerable number of general inhabitants in the pocket are infected with leprosy bacilli and more than 20% of the villagers are carrying M. leprae on the surface of the nasal cavity; suggesting that leprosy bacilli in the residential environment play an important role in high prevalence of leprosy in the endemic area. New preventive measures such as chemoprophylaxis, in addition to MDT, will be needed for global elimination of the disease.</p>  a1342-3681