The therapeutic effect of acupuncture on bacillary dysentery was observed in 55 patients suffering from acute bacillary dysentery. Bilateral Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST 36) points were chosen as the main points an...The therapeutic effect of acupuncture on bacillary dysentery was observed in 55 patients suffering from acute bacillary dysentery. Bilateral Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST 36) points were chosen as the main points and Quchi was added for those with high fever. All the patients in this investigation were cured after one course of acupuncture treatment. It was noticed that their symptoms disappeared after average of 2. 4 days and stool laboratory test normalized after 2. 8 days on an average.It is concluded that acupuncture is effective and applicable to bacillary dysentery.展开更多
In this study, the effects of fermented whey （FW） in treating bacillary dysentery caused by Shigellaflexneri in albino rats and on the gastrointestinal （GIT） flora of apparently healthy albino rats （AHARs） were ...In this study, the effects of fermented whey （FW） in treating bacillary dysentery caused by Shigellaflexneri in albino rats and on the gastrointestinal （GIT） flora of apparently healthy albino rats （AHARs） were investigated. Prior the therapeutic assay, the growth inhibitory activity （GIA） of whey subjected to different fermentation durations at 30 ~ 2 ~C was first investigated using agar diffusion assay on the test organism, conventional antibiotics served as control. After this, the infectious dose of the organism was determined and used to infect another set of AHARs. The infected rats were grouped into two; group one was treated with 1.0 mL of the FW that exerted the highest GIA in the in vitro assay （FW1）, once daily for 7 d while group two was left untreated. The rats were observed for signs of recovery while their large intestine was subjected to histopathological examinations. For the effects of whey on GIT flora of AHARs, another group of AHARs was fed with FW1 for 3months. At 7 d intervals, their faeces were examined for microbial types and load. The in vitro GIA of the FWs on the test organism was superior to that of most of the antibiotics used and the administration of FW1 to infected rats caused them to recover by 72 h while those not treated with FW1 started to recover by 168 h. FWl did not significantly （p 〈 0.05） affect the GIT microflora loads but only the types.展开更多
Background:Bacillary layer detachment(BALAD)is a phenomenon characterized by fluid accumulation at the myoid region of the inner photoreceptor segments identifiable on optical coherence tomography(OCT)imaging.This fin...Background:Bacillary layer detachment(BALAD)is a phenomenon characterized by fluid accumulation at the myoid region of the inner photoreceptor segments identifiable on optical coherence tomography(OCT)imaging.This finding has been recently described in patients with diverse primary diagnoses which share the common feature of serous exudation in the posterior pole.However,thus far there have been very few reports in the literature of BALAD in patients with posterior scleritis.Case Description:A 16-year-old male presented with unilateral vision changes that acutely worsened overnight to significant unilateral vision loss.He was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic posterior scleritis with associated BALAD on OCT.Similar to other reported cases of BALAD,he experienced anatomic restoration of the outer retina followed by good visual recovery after treatment with high dose steroid,ultimately with complete recovery of both retinal anatomy and vision within 4 months.Conclusions:This case provides further evidence that posterior scleritis can be a cause of BALAD.The rapid presentation and excellent visual and anatomical outcome of this case is entirely consistent with known descriptions of BALAD in a variety of other conditions,further supporting the categorization of BALAD as an entity which retinal specialists should be able to recognize as distinct from other forms of intraretinal fluid,retinal detachment,and retinoschisis.展开更多
Objective： To explore the impact of meteorological factors on the outbreak of bacillary dysentery, so as to provide suggestions for disease prevention. Methods： Based on the Chinese medicine theory of Yunqi, the des...Objective： To explore the impact of meteorological factors on the outbreak of bacillary dysentery, so as to provide suggestions for disease prevention. Methods： Based on the Chinese medicine theory of Yunqi, the descriptive statistics, single-factor correlation analysis and back-propagation artificial neural net-work were conducted using data on five basic meteorological factors and data on incidence of bacillary dysentery in Beijing, China, for the period 1970-2004. Results： The incidence of bacillary dysentery showed significant positive correlation relationship with the precipitation, relative humidity, vapor pressure, and temperature, respectively. The incidence of bacillary dysentery showed a negatively correlated relationship with the wind speed and the change trend of average wind speed. The results of medical-meteorological forecast model showed a relatively high accuracy rate. Conclusions： There is a close relationship between the meteorological factors and the incidence of bacillary dysentery, but the contributions of which to the onset of bacillary dysentery are different to each other.展开更多
Background:Bacillary dysentery(BD)is an acute bacterial infection of the intestine caused by Shigella spp.,with clinical symptoms ranging from fever to bloody diarrhoea to abdominal cramps to tenesmus.In Vietnam,enter...Background:Bacillary dysentery(BD)is an acute bacterial infection of the intestine caused by Shigella spp.,with clinical symptoms ranging from fever to bloody diarrhoea to abdominal cramps to tenesmus.In Vietnam,enteric bacterial pathogens are an important cause of diarrhoea and most cases in children under 5 years of age are due to Shigella strains.The serogroups S.flexneri and S.sonnei are considered to be the most common.The main objective of this study was to,for the first time,assess the seasonal patterns and geographic distribution of BD in Vietnam,and to determine the climate risk factors associated with the incidence of BD in Kon Tum Province,where the highest rate of bacillary dysentery was observed from 1999 to 2013.Methods:The seasonal patterns and geographic distribution of BD was assessed in Vietnam using a seasonaltrend decomposition procedure based on loess.In addition,negative binomial regression models were used to determine the climate risk factors associated with the incidence of BD in Kon Tum Province,from 1999 to 2013.Results:Overall,incidence rates of BD have slightly decreased over time(except for an extremely high incidence in 2012 in the north of Vietnam).The central regions(north/south central coast and central highlands)had relatively high incidence rates,whereas the northwest/east and Red River Delta regions had low incidence rates.Overall,seasonal plots showed a high peak in the mid-rainy reason and a second smaller peak in the early or late rainy season.The incidence rates significantly increased between May and October(“wet season”)across the country.In Kon Tum Province,temperature,humidity,and precipitation were found to be positively associated with the incidence of BD.Conclusions:Our findings provide insights into the seasonal patterns and geographic distribution of BD in Vietnam and its associated climate risk factors in Kon Tum Province.This study may help clinicians and the general public to better understand the timings of outbreaks and therefore equip them with the knowledge to plan better interventions(such as improving water,sanitation,and hygiene conditions)during peak seasons.This can,in turn,prevent or reduce outbreaks and onwards transmission during an outbreak.展开更多
Preserving microbial diversity has become a strategic undertaking. Thus, ex situ microalgal culture conservation results in strategic and functional resource in both biodiversity protection and application domains. Cr...Preserving microbial diversity has become a strategic undertaking. Thus, ex situ microalgal culture conservation results in strategic and functional resource in both biodiversity protection and application domains. Cryopreservation of microalgae has been practiced since the 1960s and is now considered the optimal preservation strategy. Furthermore, the overall monitoring during growth of cultures after freezing/thawing protocols was hardly investigated and there is poor evaluation related to preserve especially the photosystem apparatus. The present study focuses on Stichococcus bacillaris as case study for short-term cryopreservation at −80 °C storage. Various freezing pretreatments using cryoprotective agents, and two thawing methods were compared introducing a novel variable to evaluate viability recovery and assessing growth kinetics of cultures immediately after thawing and after a series batch cultivation. Photosynthetic rate and pigments assessment were proposed to evaluate hidden metabolic cell damage. Results underline cryoprotective agents can increase the kinetic recovery of preserved cells in terms of reduction of lag phase during batch cultivation tests: the use of dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol granted a growth comparable to unpreserved cells when sudden thawing occurs after 24 hours of storage, but recovery after preservation is less sensitive to cryoprotective agents when gradual thawing and 1 month of storage is considered. However, cells are always able to restore their physiological pathways even without agents, so their kinetic effect has been proved and quantified. Interestingly, both the photosynthetic efficiency and the ratio between total chlorophyll and carotenoids are comparable (0.75 F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>, 2.2 ± 0.25 g/g) to unpreserved cells and they are unsensitive to chosen agents, but the ratio between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b was clearly altered (up to 10 times), suggesting that photoactive pigments relative proportions can result in similar growth kinetic performances. Long-term studies will be carried out to assess whether the differences found could cause chronic damage to photosystem efficiency of S. bacillaris cultures.展开更多
Bai Du San(败毒散Antiphlogistic Powder) is recorded in Key to Therapeutics of Children's Diseases(小儿药证直诀)written by Qian Yi of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Evacuating the bowels to remove internal heat is one of the major therapeutic principles in treating pediatric diseases. Since the children are incapable of controlling in take of milk or food, the accumulated foodstu...Evacuating the bowels to remove internal heat is one of the major therapeutic principles in treating pediatric diseases. Since the children are incapable of controlling in take of milk or food, the accumulated foodstuffs in the body will impede the spleen and stomach in digestion and transportation. In addition, children are easy to be attacked by exopathogens, because their organs are tender and do not fully develop. Once an exopathogen gets into the interior, it will transform into heat. However, simple measures of eliminating the heat often fail in the treatment of some critical and emergent pediatric cases. We have treated such cases by the method of evacuating bowels to remove the internal heat with miracle effects and would like to share our experience with our colleagues. The following are some examples.展开更多
To investigate sources of Salmonella pullorum infections that cause frequent outbreaks of bacillary white diarrhea in poultry and sporadic human food poisoning in Nigeria, prevalence of the infection among day-old-chi...To investigate sources of Salmonella pullorum infections that cause frequent outbreaks of bacillary white diarrhea in poultry and sporadic human food poisoning in Nigeria, prevalence of the infection among day-old-chicks in Akwa-Ibom State, south-south Nigeria, was studied. From each depot/hatchery, 30 day-old chicks were randomly selected for their livers, spleens, kidneys, hearts, yolk sacs and intestines which were processed and cultured on appropriate bacterial media. Colonies that grew from the specimens were characterized based on their morphologies, staining characteristics, biochemical reactions and cultural characteristics. Gram positive isolates that were: short, plum shaped, rods, non-spore forming and non-capsulated were identified as Salmonella species. Motility test and biochemical tests on the Salmonella colonies identified those that were S. pullorum. Five percent of chicks being distributed in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria were infected with S. pullorum, the agent of, bacillary white diarrhea (which causes high mortality in chicks) and food poisoning in man.展开更多
Background:The predictive value of the serology to detection of IgM against the Mycobacterium leprae-derived phenolic glycolipid-I/PGL-I to identify leprosy patients who are at higher risk of developing reactions rema...Background:The predictive value of the serology to detection of IgM against the Mycobacterium leprae-derived phenolic glycolipid-I/PGL-I to identify leprosy patients who are at higher risk of developing reactions remains controversial.Whether baseline results of the ML Flow test can predict leprosy reactions was investigated among a cohort of patients enrolled in The Clinical Trial for Uniform Multidrug Therapy for Leprosy Patients in Brazil(U-MDT/CT-BR).Methods:This was a descriptive study focusing on the main clinical manifestations of leprosy patients enrolled in the U-MDT/CT-BR from March 2007 to February 2012 at two Brazilian leprosy reference centers.For research purposes,753 leprosy patients were categorized according to a modified Ridley-Jopling(R&J)classification and according to the development of leprosy reactions(reversal reaction/RR and erythema nodosum leprosum/ENL),and whether they had a positive or negative bacillary index/BI.Results:More than half of the patients(55.5%)reported leprosy reaction:18.3%(138/753)had a RR and 5.4%(41/753)had ENL.Leprosy reactions were more frequent in the first year following diagnosis,as seen in 27%(205/753)of patients,while 19%(142/753)developed reactions during subsequent follow-up.Similar frequencies of leprosy reactions and other clinical manifestations were observed in paucibacillary(PB)and multibacillary(MB)leprosy patients treated with U-MDT and regular MDT(R-MDT)(P=0.43 and P=0.61,respectively).Compared with PB patients,leprosy reactions were significantly more frequent in MB patients with a high BI,and more patients developed RR than ENL.However,RR and neuritis were also reported in patients with a negative BI.At baseline,the highest rate of ML Flow positivity was observed in patients with a positive BI,especially those who developed ENL,followed by patients who had neuritis and RR.Among reaction-free patients,81.9%were ML Flow positive,however,the differences were not statistically significant compared to reactional patients(P=0.45).Conclusions:MB and PB patients treated with R-MDT and U-MDT showed similar frequencies of RR and other clinical manifestations.Positive ML Flow tests were associated with MB leprosy and BI positivity.However,ML Flow test results at baseline showed limited sensitivity and specificity for predicting the development of leprosy reactions.展开更多
文摘The therapeutic effect of acupuncture on bacillary dysentery was observed in 55 patients suffering from acute bacillary dysentery. Bilateral Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST 36) points were chosen as the main points and Quchi was added for those with high fever. All the patients in this investigation were cured after one course of acupuncture treatment. It was noticed that their symptoms disappeared after average of 2. 4 days and stool laboratory test normalized after 2. 8 days on an average.It is concluded that acupuncture is effective and applicable to bacillary dysentery.
文摘In this study, the effects of fermented whey （FW） in treating bacillary dysentery caused by Shigellaflexneri in albino rats and on the gastrointestinal （GIT） flora of apparently healthy albino rats （AHARs） were investigated. Prior the therapeutic assay, the growth inhibitory activity （GIA） of whey subjected to different fermentation durations at 30 ~ 2 ~C was first investigated using agar diffusion assay on the test organism, conventional antibiotics served as control. After this, the infectious dose of the organism was determined and used to infect another set of AHARs. The infected rats were grouped into two; group one was treated with 1.0 mL of the FW that exerted the highest GIA in the in vitro assay （FW1）, once daily for 7 d while group two was left untreated. The rats were observed for signs of recovery while their large intestine was subjected to histopathological examinations. For the effects of whey on GIT flora of AHARs, another group of AHARs was fed with FW1 for 3months. At 7 d intervals, their faeces were examined for microbial types and load. The in vitro GIA of the FWs on the test organism was superior to that of most of the antibiotics used and the administration of FW1 to infected rats caused them to recover by 72 h while those not treated with FW1 started to recover by 168 h. FWl did not significantly （p 〈 0.05） affect the GIT microflora loads but only the types.
基金This work was supported by an unrestricted grant to the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences from Research to Prevent Blindness.
文摘Background:Bacillary layer detachment(BALAD)is a phenomenon characterized by fluid accumulation at the myoid region of the inner photoreceptor segments identifiable on optical coherence tomography(OCT)imaging.This finding has been recently described in patients with diverse primary diagnoses which share the common feature of serous exudation in the posterior pole.However,thus far there have been very few reports in the literature of BALAD in patients with posterior scleritis.Case Description:A 16-year-old male presented with unilateral vision changes that acutely worsened overnight to significant unilateral vision loss.He was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic posterior scleritis with associated BALAD on OCT.Similar to other reported cases of BALAD,he experienced anatomic restoration of the outer retina followed by good visual recovery after treatment with high dose steroid,ultimately with complete recovery of both retinal anatomy and vision within 4 months.Conclusions:This case provides further evidence that posterior scleritis can be a cause of BALAD.The rapid presentation and excellent visual and anatomical outcome of this case is entirely consistent with known descriptions of BALAD in a variety of other conditions,further supporting the categorization of BALAD as an entity which retinal specialists should be able to recognize as distinct from other forms of intraretinal fluid,retinal detachment,and retinoschisis.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81072896)Beijing University of Chinese Medicine(No. 2009JYZZ-JS001)
文摘Objective： To explore the impact of meteorological factors on the outbreak of bacillary dysentery, so as to provide suggestions for disease prevention. Methods： Based on the Chinese medicine theory of Yunqi, the descriptive statistics, single-factor correlation analysis and back-propagation artificial neural net-work were conducted using data on five basic meteorological factors and data on incidence of bacillary dysentery in Beijing, China, for the period 1970-2004. Results： The incidence of bacillary dysentery showed significant positive correlation relationship with the precipitation, relative humidity, vapor pressure, and temperature, respectively. The incidence of bacillary dysentery showed a negatively correlated relationship with the wind speed and the change trend of average wind speed. The results of medical-meteorological forecast model showed a relatively high accuracy rate. Conclusions： There is a close relationship between the meteorological factors and the incidence of bacillary dysentery, but the contributions of which to the onset of bacillary dysentery are different to each other.
基金This study was supported by a grant from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,Agriculture and Food Security(CCAFS)given to the Pestforecast project“Surveillance and early warning systems for climate sensitive diseases in Vietnam”,which was implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute(ILRI)Vietnam officeFinancial support was also received from the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health,led by the International Food Policy Research Institute.
文摘Background:Bacillary dysentery(BD)is an acute bacterial infection of the intestine caused by Shigella spp.,with clinical symptoms ranging from fever to bloody diarrhoea to abdominal cramps to tenesmus.In Vietnam,enteric bacterial pathogens are an important cause of diarrhoea and most cases in children under 5 years of age are due to Shigella strains.The serogroups S.flexneri and S.sonnei are considered to be the most common.The main objective of this study was to,for the first time,assess the seasonal patterns and geographic distribution of BD in Vietnam,and to determine the climate risk factors associated with the incidence of BD in Kon Tum Province,where the highest rate of bacillary dysentery was observed from 1999 to 2013.Methods:The seasonal patterns and geographic distribution of BD was assessed in Vietnam using a seasonaltrend decomposition procedure based on loess.In addition,negative binomial regression models were used to determine the climate risk factors associated with the incidence of BD in Kon Tum Province,from 1999 to 2013.Results:Overall,incidence rates of BD have slightly decreased over time(except for an extremely high incidence in 2012 in the north of Vietnam).The central regions(north/south central coast and central highlands)had relatively high incidence rates,whereas the northwest/east and Red River Delta regions had low incidence rates.Overall,seasonal plots showed a high peak in the mid-rainy reason and a second smaller peak in the early or late rainy season.The incidence rates significantly increased between May and October(“wet season”)across the country.In Kon Tum Province,temperature,humidity,and precipitation were found to be positively associated with the incidence of BD.Conclusions:Our findings provide insights into the seasonal patterns and geographic distribution of BD in Vietnam and its associated climate risk factors in Kon Tum Province.This study may help clinicians and the general public to better understand the timings of outbreaks and therefore equip them with the knowledge to plan better interventions(such as improving water,sanitation,and hygiene conditions)during peak seasons.This can,in turn,prevent or reduce outbreaks and onwards transmission during an outbreak.
文摘Preserving microbial diversity has become a strategic undertaking. Thus, ex situ microalgal culture conservation results in strategic and functional resource in both biodiversity protection and application domains. Cryopreservation of microalgae has been practiced since the 1960s and is now considered the optimal preservation strategy. Furthermore, the overall monitoring during growth of cultures after freezing/thawing protocols was hardly investigated and there is poor evaluation related to preserve especially the photosystem apparatus. The present study focuses on Stichococcus bacillaris as case study for short-term cryopreservation at −80 °C storage. Various freezing pretreatments using cryoprotective agents, and two thawing methods were compared introducing a novel variable to evaluate viability recovery and assessing growth kinetics of cultures immediately after thawing and after a series batch cultivation. Photosynthetic rate and pigments assessment were proposed to evaluate hidden metabolic cell damage. Results underline cryoprotective agents can increase the kinetic recovery of preserved cells in terms of reduction of lag phase during batch cultivation tests: the use of dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol granted a growth comparable to unpreserved cells when sudden thawing occurs after 24 hours of storage, but recovery after preservation is less sensitive to cryoprotective agents when gradual thawing and 1 month of storage is considered. However, cells are always able to restore their physiological pathways even without agents, so their kinetic effect has been proved and quantified. Interestingly, both the photosynthetic efficiency and the ratio between total chlorophyll and carotenoids are comparable (0.75 F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>, 2.2 ± 0.25 g/g) to unpreserved cells and they are unsensitive to chosen agents, but the ratio between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b was clearly altered (up to 10 times), suggesting that photoactive pigments relative proportions can result in similar growth kinetic performances. Long-term studies will be carried out to assess whether the differences found could cause chronic damage to photosystem efficiency of S. bacillaris cultures.
文摘Bai Du San(败毒散Antiphlogistic Powder) is recorded in Key to Therapeutics of Children's Diseases(小儿药证直诀)written by Qian Yi of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
文摘Evacuating the bowels to remove internal heat is one of the major therapeutic principles in treating pediatric diseases. Since the children are incapable of controlling in take of milk or food, the accumulated foodstuffs in the body will impede the spleen and stomach in digestion and transportation. In addition, children are easy to be attacked by exopathogens, because their organs are tender and do not fully develop. Once an exopathogen gets into the interior, it will transform into heat. However, simple measures of eliminating the heat often fail in the treatment of some critical and emergent pediatric cases. We have treated such cases by the method of evacuating bowels to remove the internal heat with miracle effects and would like to share our experience with our colleagues. The following are some examples.
文摘To investigate sources of Salmonella pullorum infections that cause frequent outbreaks of bacillary white diarrhea in poultry and sporadic human food poisoning in Nigeria, prevalence of the infection among day-old-chicks in Akwa-Ibom State, south-south Nigeria, was studied. From each depot/hatchery, 30 day-old chicks were randomly selected for their livers, spleens, kidneys, hearts, yolk sacs and intestines which were processed and cultured on appropriate bacterial media. Colonies that grew from the specimens were characterized based on their morphologies, staining characteristics, biochemical reactions and cultural characteristics. Gram positive isolates that were: short, plum shaped, rods, non-spore forming and non-capsulated were identified as Salmonella species. Motility test and biochemical tests on the Salmonella colonies identified those that were S. pullorum. Five percent of chicks being distributed in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria were infected with S. pullorum, the agent of, bacillary white diarrhea (which causes high mortality in chicks) and food poisoning in man.
基金EMH was a recipient of a scholarship from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development/CNPq,Brazil(grant no:141554/2013)MMAS is a recipient of a fellowship from CNPq(grant no:304869/2008-2)+1 种基金The U-MDT/CT-BR was funded by the Department of Science and Technology of the Brazilian Ministry of Health and CNPq(grant no:40.3293/2005-7)The funders had no role in the study design,data collection and analysis,decision to publish,or preparation of the paper.
文摘Background:The predictive value of the serology to detection of IgM against the Mycobacterium leprae-derived phenolic glycolipid-I/PGL-I to identify leprosy patients who are at higher risk of developing reactions remains controversial.Whether baseline results of the ML Flow test can predict leprosy reactions was investigated among a cohort of patients enrolled in The Clinical Trial for Uniform Multidrug Therapy for Leprosy Patients in Brazil(U-MDT/CT-BR).Methods:This was a descriptive study focusing on the main clinical manifestations of leprosy patients enrolled in the U-MDT/CT-BR from March 2007 to February 2012 at two Brazilian leprosy reference centers.For research purposes,753 leprosy patients were categorized according to a modified Ridley-Jopling(R&J)classification and according to the development of leprosy reactions(reversal reaction/RR and erythema nodosum leprosum/ENL),and whether they had a positive or negative bacillary index/BI.Results:More than half of the patients(55.5%)reported leprosy reaction:18.3%(138/753)had a RR and 5.4%(41/753)had ENL.Leprosy reactions were more frequent in the first year following diagnosis,as seen in 27%(205/753)of patients,while 19%(142/753)developed reactions during subsequent follow-up.Similar frequencies of leprosy reactions and other clinical manifestations were observed in paucibacillary(PB)and multibacillary(MB)leprosy patients treated with U-MDT and regular MDT(R-MDT)(P=0.43 and P=0.61,respectively).Compared with PB patients,leprosy reactions were significantly more frequent in MB patients with a high BI,and more patients developed RR than ENL.However,RR and neuritis were also reported in patients with a negative BI.At baseline,the highest rate of ML Flow positivity was observed in patients with a positive BI,especially those who developed ENL,followed by patients who had neuritis and RR.Among reaction-free patients,81.9%were ML Flow positive,however,the differences were not statistically significant compared to reactional patients(P=0.45).Conclusions:MB and PB patients treated with R-MDT and U-MDT showed similar frequencies of RR and other clinical manifestations.Positive ML Flow tests were associated with MB leprosy and BI positivity.However,ML Flow test results at baseline showed limited sensitivity and specificity for predicting the development of leprosy reactions.
