Lepromin reaction with Dharmendra antigen, Leproagglutination (Ogata) with the cardiolipin-lecithin antigen and Middlebrook-Dubos hemagglutination reaction were tested in 571 cases of leprosy (lepromatous type-436, tuberculoid type-135) and the relation of the intensity of the three reactions to the disease types and the interrelationship between the reactions were studied statistically.
Lepromin reaction was negative in 391 of the 436 lepromatous cases (89.7%) and positive in 109 of 135 tuberculoid cases (80.7%).
An endtiter higher than 1: 32 by Leproagglutination was observed in 83.2% of the lepromatous cases and an endtiter less than 1:16 was seen in 86.7% of the tuberculoid cases.
The endtiter of Middlebrook-Dubos hemagglutination in relation to the disease type was not so definite as with the previous two reactions but the mean endtiter was higher in the lepromatous cases.
Lepromin reaction was in a negative correlation to both Leproagglutination and Middlebrook-Dubos hemagglutination, the latter two were in a positive correlation. Significance of the above correlation among the three reactions in view of the nature of the disease, however, has not been cleared yet.
Lepromin reaction and Leproagglutination are considered to be important means for determining the type of leprosy and by utilizing these two reactions, it will not only be possible to diagnose the disease type with greater accuracy, but also will contribute much to the immunological study of leprosy.
