An inquiry into the adoption of the term Mycobacterium hansenii

An inquiry was made among various organs of the Public Health Service of the State of S. Paulo, Brazil, members of the Scientific Council and Editorial Board of "Hansenologia Internationalis", and Professors of Dermatology, Bacteriology, Neurology, Pathology and Preventive Medicine of Brazil, having in view the possibility of using the term Mycobacterium hansenii in that periodical, as a substitute for Mycobacterium leprae. The results were considered favorable to the change and led to the adoption of the new term by the Institute of Health, which publishes the periodical. The First Congress of Hansenology of the Endemic Countries and the Third Brazilian Congress of Hansenology, held in Rio de Janeiro, November 1980, were informed of the change and resolved to introduce Myco. hansenii as a synonym for Myco.leprae, upon a recommendation of their Workshops on Bacteriology. Appeals are made to the International Committee of Systematic Bacteriology and Societies of Bacteriology of the whole world to study the grave moral, social, medical and preventive problems caused by the "bacteriological stigma" in endemic Christian countries.