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An unusual principle has been observed: when obliged to reproduce in a new medium ill-adapted to their development, mycobacteria abandon their common mode of reproduction--transversal division--and adopt a mode of evolution that puts less of a strain on their vitality: the long evolutive cycle, first described in 1899. In an initial step, the mycobacilli used for seeding purposes undergo auto-bacteriolysis, creating a cyanophilous fundamental substance which is in fact a symplasm due to the ex-bacillary microgranules, a multitude of independent and mobile genes. These genes merge according to a new and simpler arrangement: thus are formed the slender cocci that take the place of the amorphous cyanophilous substance. These cocci, released in the culture, multiply and lengthen into bacilli which merge to form a new amorphous cyanophilous substance. This new amorphous cyanophilous substance, thanks to another rearrangement of its genes, then forms a "crust" which undergoes exfoliation and crumbles into alcohol-acid-fast (a.a.f.) bacilli. Coryneforms and a.a.f. bacilli (mycobacteria) constitute two distinct agents with different and even occasionally opposite pathogenicities, as can be observed in co-cultures of Coryneforms (Hansen's bacillus or bacillus Calmette-Guérin) and tubercle (Koch's) bacillus. In such co-cultures, the tubercle bacilli progressively lose their vitality and virulence while, inversely, the Coryneforms reinforce their pathogenicity. Co-cultures of BCG and lepromin thus constitute an association with a particular property and most likely an auto-vaccinating activity against leprosy which is the subject of on-going research.

The authors carried out 3 double blind trials to determine the correlation between the early and the late lepromin reactions and to verify the practical and control values of the 48 hours or Fernandez reaction. Children and adolescents non-contacts were tested with human lepromin (40 x 10(6) bacilli/ml) and different concentrations of armadillo lepromin (160, 40, 20, 10, 5, 2,5, and 1 x 10(6) bacilli/ml). The conclusions are as follows: 1. The coefficients of correlation (r values) point out that the correlation between the two reactions is poor or almost null. 2. The negative or doubtful reactions, the most often observed, have no practical value because they are almost always followed by a positive Mitsuda reaction. 3. The positive Fernandez reaction was always followed by a positive Mitsuda reaction. Thus it has practical importance. However as the frequency of early positivity is low with human and armadillo lepromin of lower concentrations, recommended in routine testing, the 48 hours reading is unnecessary and without control value. It would represent a loss of time and money.

This is the report of an experiment of leucocyte migration performed with BCG and Lepromin among three groups of people: - one group of leprotic people; - two groups of witnesses. The first one including people with BBS disease having not received corticoid treatment. The reaction against Lepromin are different, among the leprotic group of people from the non leprotic one. We have noticed in the leprotic group variations with time depending on the kind of treatment. This is a fact very interesting to point out. These findings should be showed right or wrong by other physicians.