02191nas a2200421   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653001000058653000900068653002200077653002600099653002400125653002000149653001100169653002200180653001600202653001100218653001300229653001200242653002600254653000900280653001600289653002500305653002700330653001900357100001700376700001500393700001200408700001700420700001400437700001500451245008500466300001100551490000800562050001700570520116800587022001401755       1991                            d  c1991 Sep 2110aAdult10aAged10aAged, 80 and over10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aContact Tracing10aFemale10aFollow-Up Studies10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aLepromin10aleprosy10aLymphocyte Activation10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aResidential Facilities10aUnited Kingdom1 aDockrell H M1 aEastcott H1 aYoung S1 aMacfarlane A1 aHussain R1 aWaters M F00aPossible transmission of Mycobacterium leprae in a group of UK leprosy contacts.  a739-430 v338  aDOCKRELL19913 a<p>A case of infectious leprosy in residential accommodation in the UK prompted a study of the cellular and humoral response to Mycobacterium leprae in two groups of individuals who were in contact with the index case for almost a year. In the younger staff group (mean age 44 years) 23 of 30 individuals had positive Mitsuda skin tests, 25 showed lymphocyte transformation to a soluble sonciate of M leprae and 2 had slightly raised IgM antibody concentrations to the terminal disaccharide of M leprae phenolic glycolipid-1. In the older group of residents (mean age 83 years) 7 of 36 individuals were skin-test positive, 25 of 33 were positive by lymphocyte transformation, but none had raised antibody levels. When retested on two further occasions, the same 2 individuals in the younger group still had raised antibody concentrations, 1 of whom had a persistent lepromin skin-test response for over 8 months and showed a pronounced increase in lymphocyte transformation to mycobacterial antigens. The findings suggest that transmission of M leprae may have occurred in these 2 contacts, who were therefore given 6 months' chemoprophylaxis with rifampicin.</p>  a0140-6736