02940nas a2200553   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653000900080653001100089653001000100653002100110653002300131653001900154653001100173653001300184653001100197653001200208653000900220653001600229653002600245653002700271653002500298653001600323653003600339653002100375653000900396653002100405653001600426100001600442700001300458700000900471700001000480700001000490700001300500700001200513700001400525700001300539700001000552700001500562700001200577245007700589856007300666300001200739490000700751520161400758022001402372       2009                            d  c2009 Sep10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aBiopsy10aChild10aChild, Preschool10aDNA Fingerprinting10aDNA, Bacterial10aFemale10agenotype10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMinisatellite Repeats10aMolecular Epidemiology10aMycobacterium leprae10aPhilippines10aPolymorphism, Single Nucleotide10aRural Population10aSkin10aUrban Population10aYoung Adult1 aSakamuri RM1 aKimura M1 aLi W1 aKim H1 aLee H1 aKiran MD1 aBlack W1 aBalagon M1 aGelber R1 aCho S1 aBrennan PJ1 aVissa V00aPopulation-based molecular epidemiology of leprosy in Cebu, Philippines.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738081/pdf/2021-08.pdf  a2844-540 v473 a<p>To address the persisting problem of leprosy in Cebu, Philippines, we compiled a database of more than 200 patients who attend an established referral skin clinic. We described the patient characteristics in conventional demographic parameters and also applied multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing for Mycobacterium leprae in biopsied skin lesion samples. These combined approaches revealed that transmission is ongoing, with the affected including the young Cebuano population under 40 years of age in both crowded cities and rural areas of the island. The emergence of multicase families (MCF) is indicative of infection unconstrained by standard care measures. For the SNPs, we designed a low-cost PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism typing method. MLVA in M. leprae was highly discriminatory in this population yet could retain broad groups, as defined by the more stable SNPs, implying temporal marker stability suitable for interpreting population structures and evolution. The majority of isolates belong to an Asian lineage (SNP type 1), and the rest belong to a putative postcolonial lineage (SNP type 3). Specific alleles at two VNTR loci, (GGT)5 and 21-3, were highly associated with SNP type 3 in this population. MLVA identified M. leprae genotype associations for patients with known epidemiological links such as in MCFs and in some villages. These methods provide a molecular database and a rational framework for targeted approaches to search and confirm leprosy transmission in various scenarios.</p>  a1098-660X