01408nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002900055653002700084653001100111653001200122653002200134653001600156653001300172653002200185653001700207100001700224245008500241300000900326490000700335520081000342022001401152       1991                            d  c1991 Jul10aAcademies and institutes10aAntibodies, Monoclonal10aHumans10aleprosy10aMolecular Biology10aNetherlands10aResearch10aTropical Medicine10aTuberculosis1 aTerpstra W J00aMycobacterial research at the N.H. Swellengrebel Laboratory of Tropical Hygiene.  aS3-40 v433 a<p>The N.H. Swellengrebel Laboratory of Tropical Hygiene has as its central research theme the analysis of genes and antigens of agents of tropical diseases. This is in practice the development of simple and reliable methods for the early detection of tropical diseases ultimately in the interest of the control of these diseases. In the fields of leprosy and tuberculosis, monoclonal antibodies against specific epitopes were prepared allowing a quick and reliable identification, specific antibodies were detected in patients' sera, and with methods from the molecular genetics very small amounts of mycobacterial DNA could be detected in clinical specimens. The achievements of modern biotechnology offer novel approaches to the study of old and hard to solve clinical and epidemiological problems.</p>  a0041-3232