RESUMO
1- Since May 1948, 100 Culion-born children of leprosy patients have been isolated at birth in the nonleprous environment of the Culion Nursey. Of this number 11 have been released to families outside Culion, 55 have been returned to their parents in the colony after attaining moderate to strong Mitsuda reactions or after successful BCG vaccination, and 33 remained in the nursery in March 1956; 1 died at the age of 10 days of a congenital heart defect. 2-Forty children were given repeated lepromin tests, and the 16 who did not attain 3+ reactivity were then vaccinated with BCG and retested afterward; 12 children were tested with lepromin only after BCG vaccination; 34 were given repeated lepromin tests alone; and 10 had only BCG vaccination. Four children received neither lepromin nor BCG. 3- Of the 11 children released to guardians, 5 have not been heard from. Four were still nonleprous at recent follow-up examinations. Two were brought back to the colony, still nonleprous, at the ages of 3 years 9 months and 1 year 7 months, and they subsequently developed leprous lesions after periods of exposure of 2 years 5 months and 3 years, respectively. 4- The exposure periods in these two cases approximate the average incubation period of cases among unisolated, constantly-exposed children developing similar types of lesions. The first of them had been discharged from the nursery at the age of 2 years 6 months, after receiving four lepromin tests but developing only 1+ reactivity; the other had received neither lepromin nor BCG. Both probably acquired the infection after their return to the colony. Neither had received breast feeding, which indicates that maternal feedings is not a necessary factor in transmission...