VNTR typing studies of Mycobacterium lepare in Korea.

Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae and is characterized by disfiguring bacterial inclusions in the skin, peripheral nerves, and respiratory mucosa. Despite the success of multidrug therapy, leprosy remains prevalent in several developing countries, and in some regions, the incidence of new cases remains relatively unchanged. Despite of understanding of the fundamental aspects of leprosy, such as transmission patterns, infectivity, and incubation time, the fundamental information about the epidemiology of M. leprae remains unknown. Recently the availability of complete M. leprae genome sequences has permitted the identification of over 50 potentially useful VNTR loci, from which a panel of 16, the meaningful epidemiological information of was recently characterized in great detail. So the author has done the investigation of VNTR typing of Mycobacterium lepare isolated in Korea.