LEPROSY BACILLUS 73 



Eastern nations, may be contaminated by the nasal dis- 

 charges of lepers, the fish being merely the passive agent 

 whereby transmission is effected. Deficiency of salt has 

 been suggested as conducive to the disease. Insects 

 e.g., flies, fleas, lice, the itch parasite, etc. may perhaps 

 disseminate the disease, and Goodhue claims to have found 

 the bacilli in the gnat and bed-bug. MacLeod thinks the 

 most common mode of invasion is via the nasal mucosa 

 and upper respiratory tract. The bacilli may gain an 

 entrance through the mouth and infect the tonsils, and 

 they have been found in the sputum; the genital organs 

 and the skin may also allow invasion. The remarks 

 made about the inheritance of tuberculosis seem to apply 

 to leprosy. Although contagious, the extent to which 

 it is propagated by this means is said to be exceedingly 

 small. 



The resolutions of the British and Colonial delegates 

 to the International Conference on Leprosy at Bergen 

 (1909) included inter alia the following: Leprosy is spread 

 by direct and indirect contagion from persons suffering 

 from the disease. Leprosy is most prevalent under con- 

 ditions of personal and domestic uncleanliness and over- 

 crowding, especially where there is close and protracted 

 association between the leprous and non-leprous. In 

 leprosy an interval of years may elapse between infection 

 and the first recognised appearance of disease. It is a 

 disease of long duration, though some of its symptoms 

 may be quiescent for a considerable period and then 

 recur. The danger of infection from leprous persons is 

 greater when there is discharge from mucous membranes 

 or from ulcerated surfaces. 



The Smegma Bacillus. 



The smegrna bacillus closely resembles the tubercle 

 bacillus in size and shape, and also in being acid-fast 

 and Gram-positive. It is found in the preputial secretion 

 and between the labial folds of the vulva. It occurs on 

 the skin, and also, it is stated, in the ear, on the tongue 

 and teeth, in the sebaceous secretion, and perhaps in the 

 sputum. It exhibits a marked preference for those 

 secretions containing fatty matters. As found on the 

 bodies of lower animals, variations in appearance were 



