Table 1. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory characteristics among the household contacts of leprosy patients.
| Parameters | Seropositive household contacts n = 175 | Seronegative household contacts n = 35 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 30.9±16.2 | 33.1 ±14.6 | 0.2297 |
| Sex | 0.8848 | ||
| Male | 24.0% (42/175) | 22.9% (8/35) | |
| Female | 76% (133/175) | 77.1% (27/35) | |
|
Type of contact |
0.4154 | ||
| Intradomiciliary | 76.6% (134/175) | 82.9% (29/35) | |
| Extradomiciliary | 23.4% (41/175) | 17.1% (6/35) | |
|
Index case |
1.0 | ||
| Multibacillary | 82.9% (145/175) | 82.9% (29/35) | |
| Paucibacillary | 17.1% (30/175) | 17.1% (6/35) | |
| ELISA index | 2.05 ±0.82 | 0.52 ±0.18 | 0.0001 |
| Peripheral blood qPCR | 40.6% (71/175) | 8.6% (3/35) | 0.0003 |
| Slit skin smear qPCR | 47.4% (83/175) | 17.1% (6/35) | 0.0009 |
| Bacilloscopy | 4% (7/175) | 0.0% (-/35) | - |
| Neural thickening | 21.1% (37/175) | 8.6% (3/35) | 0.0838 |
| Sensory symptoms (intradermal) | 18.3% (32/175) | 14.3% (5/35) | 0.5717 |
| Sensory symptoms (truncal) | 17.1% (30/175) | 8.6% (3/35) | 0.2079 |
| Muscular weakness | 2.3% (4/175) | 2.8% (1/35) | 0.8598 |
| Abnormal ENMG | 31.4% (55/175) | 13.3% (4/35) | 0.0163 |
qPCR = Real Time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction. ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. HHC = household contact. ENMG = Electroneuromyography. BCG = Bacillus Calmette-Guérin.