A note on the lepromin reaction in males and females of the general population of Cordova, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines

RESUMO

In view of the current interpretation of reactivity to lepromin as an indication of resistance to lepromatous leprosy, and of the much greater frequency of lepromatous leprosy in males than in females, a comparison has been made of the results of the lepromin test in 776 males and 1,075 females of the general population of Cordova, Mactan Island, Cebu. Those tested were not known to have had household exposure to leprosy, and all were free from signs of the disease when examined within a year prior to testing. The number of acceptable positive early (fernandez) reactions was extremely small; 3.0 per cent in males and 6.1 per cent in females. The proportion of late (Mitsuda) reactions increased from 17.7 per cent for males and 14.1 per cent for females under 5 years of age to 94.6 and 97.0 respectively, for those of 20 years and over. No substantial difference between the sexes was found in any age group. For all ages, after adjustment for differences in age constitution, the percentage of late positives was for males, 66.5 per cent and for females, 69.9 per cent. As far as reactivity of apparently healthy persons to lepromin may be accepted as an indication of their resistance to leprosy, there is no evidence in these results that males are less resistant than females.