ABSTRACT
There is evidence that infection with Mycobacterium leprae lowers fertility of some leprosy patients. To test this hypothesis age-specific birth rates of leprous and healthly individuals were compared in a completely ascertained Philippine population in which leprosy is endemic. The fertility of lepromatous males and females after, but not before, and of females during the five-years preceding the onset of leprosy was significantly lower than that of the healthly population. these differences were not seen when the fertility of those with tuberculoid leprosy was compared with that of the healthly population. The implications of these findings for discovering causes and significance of reduced fertility of male and female victims of lepromatous leprosy are discussed.
