Interna Tional Journal of Leprosy

Gomez, Avellana and Nicolas (2) studied early leprosy among Culion children and mentioned a few instances of disappearance, without treatment, of lesions that were either negative or positive bacteriologically. There is no subsequent record of those cases, and the period of their observations covered only about nine months. Lara and de Vera (3), in 1935, called attention to the occurrence in 7 out of 10 consecutive cases observed since 1927 among very young Culion children of a papular, bacteriologically-positive kind of leprotic lesion which showed marked tendency to subside, with or without treatment. Their observations likewise were not sufficiently extended to furnish information as to the permanence of the apparent healing of the lesions. Souza Campos (12), of Brazil, was apparently the first to present a comprehensive clinical, immunological and histologic characterization of similar cases among breast-fed children of leprosy patients, after removal from the foci of infection. He placed great emphasis on the benign nature of "primary tuberculoid leprosy (lepre cIiniquement tuberculolde)" in children. He described different clinical forms, included data on the histologic features, and remarked on the scarcity or absence of Mycobacterium leprae, a low sedimentation index, and positive Mitsuda reactions in most of his cases. He considered the lesions to be manifestations of allergy and immunity, attributed the benign course of the cases partly to the removal of the children from contact and partly to hygienic care, and theorized on congenital immunity-presumably maintained through breast-feeding-and disappearance of such immunity after the first year of life. Fernandez (1), of Argentina, subsequently confirmed the observations of Souza Campos. He also mentioned abortive or latent infections among