Mycobacterium leprae in skin and nasal scrapings during sulfone treatment

The results of skin and nasal scrapings are recorded in 146 cases of leprosy during periods of sulfone thaerapy ranging from six to ten years: 1- The nasal mucosa is apparently freed of M. leprae in more than 50 per cent of cases within one year of sulfone treatment. 2- The skin is apparently freed of M. leprae, as shown by routine skin scrapings, in less than 10 per cent of cases in from one to ten years of sulfone treatment.