Fig 2. Spline curve of the annual bacillary index (BI) mean values in 12-dose MB-MDT Hansen disease patients.

Progressive decrease of the BI obtained from slit-skin smear samples of non-relapse cases during the first years after release from treatment (full line). Observe that positive BI values remain long after release from treatment. Relapse cases (dotted line), however, show greater variability, possibly due to the small number, and display BI increases before relapse.