Skin smear bacteriological examination results of 11,255 paucibacillary leprosy patients from 8 leprosy control units under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in South India and the Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Central Leprosy Teaching & Research Institute (CLT&RI), Chengalpattu, between 1987 and 1989 were collected and analysed. Only 0.05% of the smears from leprosy control units and 2.49% from the OPD of CLT&RI were found to be positive. Not a single smear from indeterminate, tuberculoid and pure neuritic types of leprosy out of 8263 examined was found positive under field conditions. The relevance of carrying out routine bacteriological examination in mass leprosy control programmes is discussed.
BT - Leprosy review C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1795589?dopt=Abstract CN - Infolep Library - available DA - 1991 Sep DO - 10.5935/0305-7518.19910037 IS - 3 J2 - Lepr Rev LA - eng N2 -Skin smear bacteriological examination results of 11,255 paucibacillary leprosy patients from 8 leprosy control units under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in South India and the Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Central Leprosy Teaching & Research Institute (CLT&RI), Chengalpattu, between 1987 and 1989 were collected and analysed. Only 0.05% of the smears from leprosy control units and 2.49% from the OPD of CLT&RI were found to be positive. Not a single smear from indeterminate, tuberculoid and pure neuritic types of leprosy out of 8263 examined was found positive under field conditions. The relevance of carrying out routine bacteriological examination in mass leprosy control programmes is discussed.
PY - 1991 SP - 303 EP - 9 T2 - Leprosy review TI - Is bacteriological examination by skin smear necessary in all paucibacillary leprosy patients in mass control programmes? UR - http://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/1991/v62n3/pdf/v62n3a09.pdf VL - 62 SN - 0305-7518 ER -