Granuloma inguinale in the eastern Transvaal.

Granuloma inguinale, considered to be a venereal disease, has a world-wide distribution but is more prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions. A number of patients presenting with typical features of this disease, characterized in particular by a beefy-red exuberant appearance of the lesions, have been treated at Shongwe Hospital in Kangwane in the Eastern Transvaal. In 43 of these patients (27 male and 16 female), nearly all in the sexually active age group of 18-41 years, the diagnosis was confirmed by demonstration of typical Donovan bodies. These patients responded well to treatment with tetracycline, but in some the lesions recurred and required further treatment. The chronicity of the lesions should alert the clinician to the possibility of granuloma inguinale, a condition which appears to be more prevalent in this region than previously recognized.