Fluorescent hybridization of in skin samples collected in Burkina Faso.

Leprosy is caused by , and it remains underdiagnosed in Burkina Faso. We investigated the use of fluorescent hybridization (FISH) for detecting in 27 skin samples (skin biopsies, slit skin and skin lesion swabs) collected from twenty-one patients who originated from Burkina Faso and three from Côte d'Ivoire who were suspected of having cutaneous leprosy. In all seven Ziehl-Neelsen-positive skin samples (four skin biopsies and three skin swabs collected from the same patient), FISH specifically identified , including one FISH-positive skin biopsy that remained negative after testing with a polymerase chain reaction targeting the B gene and with the GenoType LepraeDR assay. Twenty other skin samples and three negative controls all remained negative for Ziehl-Neelsen staining, FISH and B-PCR. These data indicate the usefulness of a microscopic examination of skin samples after FISH for the first line diagnosis of cutaneous leprosy. Accordingly, FISH represents a potentially useful Point-of-Care test for the diagnosis of cutaneous leprosy.