Primary Dapsone-resistant Leprosy

Abstract

Persons living in areas where acquired dapsone resistance is common may be infected and develop leprosy with dapsone-resistant strains of My cobacteriu m leprae. Mouse foot-pad tests on bacilli from 8 such patients, with active and previously untreated lepromatous leprosy, have shown that strains from 5 were dapsone resistant. These findings demonstrate for the first time the presence of patients with primary dapsone resistant leprosy in the community at large. The preliminary findings are presented because of the high proportion of primary dapsone resistance in the first 8 patients in a survey of some 50 patients in Ethiopia. The implications of these preliminary findings are discussed.