Thirteen patients with po1ar lepromatous leprosy and two patients with
borderline-lepromatous leprosy were studied. This group has been under medical control
at the Korean Leprosy Institute and most of them were on ctmbiped chemotherapy with
rifampicin, thiambutosine arid DDS. All of them presented a still active form of the
disease. Fifteen patter ts were giver progressively increasing doses of BCG,
intradermally, beginning with 0.1 ml of 1 in 100 dilution. This dose is increased every
fortnight, until a maximum of 0.1 ml of a 1 in 10 dilution attained. Thereafter, this same
dose of BCG (1:10dilution) were injected fortnightly. The injecticrs were well tolerated,
except the necrotic nodules developed at scute injection sites in some cases. Rapid
clinical improvement was observed in all patients. Size of nodules became smaller and
erythematcus co1or of skin lesions was diminishing rapidly, All 15 patients were
Mitsuda reaction negative with standard lepromin antigen before BCG trial, however five
months after BCG trial the following results of Mitsuda reaction were observed.
moderately positive (++) ---------------------------------------------- 1case
weakly positive (+) ------------------------------------------------- 7cases
doubt (±)--------------------------------------------------------- 3 cases
negative (-) ------------------------------------------------------ 2 cases
not tested -------------------------------------------------------- 2 cases
PPD test before BCG trial showed that average erythematous indulation was 11×11
mm, however five month after after BCG trial it was increased to 15×16mm.
Bacteriological improvement was observed in all cases. Before BCG trial BI was 3.3+in
average, however five months after BCG trial it was dropped to 2.6+in average, and MI
dropped from 18% to 0.8% during the same period. 60% 41 lepromattus leprcsy patients
became positive conversion of Mitsuda reaction after BCG repeated injections on this
trial. This results showed that CMI stimulation by BCG is possible arid therefore BCG
immunotherapy can aim to increase digestion of M. leprae and thereby to prevent DDS
resistance.
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