Studies on Mediterranean leishmaniasis. IV. The leishmanin skin test in cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The leishmanin skin test was used in four different areas of the Italian Adriatic coast (Emilia Romagna, Marche, San Marino and Abruzzi), old endemic areas for cutaneous leishmaniasis. The test was found to be postitive in 80% of past infections, the 20% negative reactions being found in those who had been infected 20 or more years before. In the old endemic area of Teramo there was increasing positivity with age, with a sharp rise in the over 30 years age group suggesting that there had been a sudden break in transmission 30 years ago, coinciding with the DDT campaign of 1944-45.

Studies in Mediterranean leishmaniasis. 3. The leishmanin skin test in kala-azar.

Leishmanin skin testing was carried out in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, the site of an outbreak of kala-azar in 1971-72, and in Catania, Eastern Sicily an old endemic focus of Mediterranean kala-azar. Nearly all the people who had recovered from kala-azar in the past gave positive skin tests. Active cases of kala-azar gave negative tests.