Comparative studies in human and armadillo derived Mitsuda lepromin

Abstract

This study is on 2 groups of leprosy patients using the Mitsuda lepromin test. The first group of 37 patients received 0.1 ml of both human (Lepromin-H) and Armadillo lepromin (Lepromin-A) in concentrations of 40 million bacilli per ml. The average readings for Lepromin-A and -H were 4.7 mm and 2.1 mm respectively. Using Nested analysis of variance, the Lepromin-A readings were found statistically significantly (2.2 times) higher than the Lepromin-H readings. The second group of 60 patients received 40 M bacilli per ml of Lepromin-A and 100 M bacilli per ml of Lepromin-H. The average readings for Lepromin-A and -H were 6.9 mm and 6.3 mm respectively. This study suggests that with the paucity in supply of Lepromin-H, Lepromin-A can be used as a good substitute in concentrations of 40 M bacilli per ml in comparison with the Lepromin-H using 100 M bacilli per ml.