Status of Histoid Leprosy — A Clinical, Bacteriological, Histopathological and Immunological Appraisal —

Abstract

Abstract The study of different aspects, namely clinical, bacteriological, histopathological and immunological, of 23 cases of histoid leprosy were quite revealing. The salient features included the occurrence of histoid lesions in a proportion of untreated leprosy patients in addition to those on dapsone treatment for a variable periods of time, a high bacteriological index in spite of infrequent formation of globi, high morphological indices and the immunological status of these patients. Cell‐mediated immunity, which was deficient in relation to healthy controls, appeared to be augmented when compared with active lepromatous (LL) patients. A few contributory factors to the development of such a situation are discussed.