Detection of Mycobacterium leprae by Polymerase Chain Reaction

The improved procedure based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for detection of M. leprae has been developed. The sensitivity and specificity of this method were tested using different concentration of genomic DNA of M. leprae Thai 53 and genomic DNAs from mycobacterial species and related microorganisms respectively. Application of this method to biopsy samples obtained from Bangladesh was conducted and detected M. leprae DNA in 7 of the 10 clinical specimens. Acid fast bacilli were not detected in four of the seven positive cases under the microscopic observation. It was concluded that this method was sensitive and specific for detection of M. leprae in clinical specimens and also simple to detect in only one step of PCR.