@article{25463,
  keywords = {Mycobacterium lepromatosis, Mycobacterium leprae, Molecular diagnosis, leprosy, Geographic medicine},
  author = {Han X and Aung F and Choon SE and Werner B},
  title = {Analysis of the Leprosy Agents Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis in Four Countries.},
  abstract = {<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>To differentiate the leprosy agents Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis and correlate them with geographic distribution and clinicopathologic features.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Species-specific polymerase chain reactions were used to detect each bacillus in archived skin biopsy specimens from patients with leprosy from Brazil (n = 52), Malaysia (n = 31), Myanmar (n = 9), and Uganda (n = 4). Findings were correlated with clinical and pathologic data.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Etiologic species was detected in 46 of the 52 Brazilian patients, including 36 patients with M leprae, seven with M lepromatosis, and three with both bacilli. The seven patients with sole M lepromatosis all had tuberculoid leprosy, whereas only nine of the 36 patients infected with M leprae exhibited this type, and the rest were lepromatous (P &lt; .001). All patients with dual infections had lepromatous leprosy. Of the nine patients from Myanmar, six were test positive: four with M leprae and two with M lepromatosis. Of the Malaysian and Ugandan patients, only M leprae was detected in 27 of the 31 Malaysians and two of the four Ugandans.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The leprosy agents vary in geographic distribution. Finding M lepromatosis in Brazil and Myanmar suggests wide existence of this newly discovered species. The leprosy manifestations likely vary with the etiologic agents.</p>
},
  year = {2014},
  journal = {American journal of clinical pathology},
  volume = {142},
  pages = {524-32},
  issn = {1943-7722},
  url = {http://ajcp.oxfordjournals.org/content/ajcpath/142/4/524.full.pdf},
  doi = {10.1309/AJCP1GLCBE5CDZRM},
  language = {eng},
}