Survival ofStaphylococcus epidermidison the skin of patients of lepromatous leprosy

摘要

The effect of hydration onStaphylococcus epidermidis, the predominant resident bacterial flora, was studied on skin affected by leprosy and known to have impaired sweating. Normal areas served as control. Significantly higher bacterial counts were observed in affected areas compared with normal‐looking skin in 16/19 of the patients. Artificial application ofStaph. epidermidison leprosy‐affected and unaffected areas, however, showed equivocal results, as in only 50 of the patients were higher counts obtained in affected compared with unaffected sites. The possible responsible factors for the present observation are discus