THE SPECIFIC TREATMENT OF LEPROSY. 



By Eugene R. Whitmore 1 and Moses T. Clegg. 

 (From the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science, Manila, P. I. 



Some months ago one of us " reported that he had cultivated an 

 acid-fast bacillus from the spleen and from nodules from the ear in 

 eight out of ten cases of leprosy. The procedure was to secure an 

 amoeba and a bacillus growing well in symbiosis and then inoculate the 

 leprous tissue into this culture. The acid-fast bacillus was found to 

 multiply in and around the amoeba, while controls from leprous tissue 

 without amoeba? and from normal tissue with aniceba? never gave a 

 growth of an acid-fast bacillus. Clegg was able to transplant this acid- 

 fast bacillus with the amoeba and after repeating this operation for 

 several months, he heated the tubes containing the cultures to 60° C 

 for one-half hour and then allowed them to stand. After a few days, 

 isolated colonies appeared on the tubes, and when transplanted they 

 grew well on all media. These colonies proved to be pure cultures 

 of this acid-fast organism, which we believe to be the leprosy bacillus. 



The next step was the endeavor to utilize this bacillus in the treat- 

 ment of leprosy. A vaccine was made in the ordinary way and stand- 

 ardized to five hundred thousand bacteria per cubic centimeter. The 

 bacteria in this vaccine showed a great tendency to form clumps on being 

 allowed to stand without shaking. We selected a number of well- 

 marked cases of leprosy, all being positive for the leprosy bacillus. 

 Injections were given once a week, the dose varying from 0.25 to 1 

 cubic centimeter. Several of the patients after the injections had local 

 reactions in the leprous lesions, such as redness and swelling, and 

 some pemphigoid eruptions ; while two of the cases - showed an ex- 

 tensive eruption of papules which were very red and tender. As the 

 various eruptions disappeared, the skin remained pigmented at the 

 site of the eruption. Upon increasing the dose of our vaccine we 

 found that the dead bacteria were not absorbed, but remained at the 



1 Major, Medical Corps, TJ. S. Army; detailed to Biological Laboratory, Bureau 

 of Science, Manila. 



3 Clegg, This Journal, Sec. B (1909). 4, 403. 



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