Effectiveness of leishmanization in the control of cutaneous leishmaniasis

To find out the effectiveness of leishmanization in the control of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis, more than 250 persons were inoculated by the 5th subculture of a strain of L. tropica major kept on laboratory mice. About 47% took with incubation period ranging from less than one month to more than 1 year. The duration of the lesion was from 3 months 1/2 to 13 months 1/2. The two year incidence of the natural infection in this hyperendemic area was 0.8% for "takes", and 10.5% for "non-takes" and 40% for controls. By doing leishmanin skin test two years after inoculation, it is concluded that leishmanization has a protective effect of about 80% in this endemic area.