Background: Early diagnosis of leprosy is still a serious problem due to the low sensitivity of standard diagnostic methods and the inability to cultivate Mycobacterium leprae. Identification of M.leprae and determination of her viability on basis of PCR- technology can assistance to solve the issues of early diagnosis and the optimal duration and effectiveness of treatment of leprosy. Objectives: to investigate the performance of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in various clinical samples for leprosy diagnosis and monitoring effectiveness of treatment. Methods: Extraction of DNA/RNA of Mycobacterium leprae were performed from various clinical specimens (biopsies and SSS, scrapes from nasal pharynx, etc.) The primers and probes were designed for the 16S rRNA of M. leprae. The test system is adapted to DT-96 Real-time Thermal cycler (DNA-Technology, Moscow, Russia). The test system contains an internal control (IC). The specificity and sensitivity of the PCR test system were performed on 15 strains of different species of mycobacteria and clinical samples from 32 leprosy patients and 15 healthy household contacts. Results: Established 100% specificity and sensitivity of detection of Mycobacterium leprae in skin biopsies by PCR compared with standard microscopy method (88.9%). In all other clinical samples were also determined higher sensitivity developed PCR test-system. Conclusions: The test system, using primers to the 16S rRNA of M. leprae has shown high sensitivity and specificity for fast identification and determination of viability of Mycobacterium leprae.
| Published in | Science Discovery Medicine (Volume 1, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11 |
| Page(s) | 111-117 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Leprosy, 16S rRNA M.leprae, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
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APA Style
Saroyants, L. V., Arnaudova, K. S., Naumov, A. V. (2026). Experience of Using Pcr in the Diagnosis of Leprosy in Russia. Science Discovery Medicine, 1(3), 111-117. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11
ACS Style
Saroyants, L. V.; Arnaudova, K. S.; Naumov, A. V. Experience of Using Pcr in the Diagnosis of Leprosy in Russia. Sci. Discov. Med. 2026, 1(3), 111-117. doi: 10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11,
author = {Lyudmila Valentinovna Saroyants and Kristina Shotaevna Arnaudova and Andrey Valentinovich Naumov},
title = {Experience of Using Pcr in the Diagnosis of Leprosy in Russia},
journal = {Science Discovery Medicine},
volume = {1},
number = {3},
pages = {111-117},
doi = {10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sdmed.20260103.11},
abstract = {Background: Early diagnosis of leprosy is still a serious problem due to the low sensitivity of standard diagnostic methods and the inability to cultivate Mycobacterium leprae. Identification of M.leprae and determination of her viability on basis of PCR- technology can assistance to solve the issues of early diagnosis and the optimal duration and effectiveness of treatment of leprosy. Objectives: to investigate the performance of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in various clinical samples for leprosy diagnosis and monitoring effectiveness of treatment. Methods: Extraction of DNA/RNA of Mycobacterium leprae were performed from various clinical specimens (biopsies and SSS, scrapes from nasal pharynx, etc.) The primers and probes were designed for the 16S rRNA of M. leprae. The test system is adapted to DT-96 Real-time Thermal cycler (DNA-Technology, Moscow, Russia). The test system contains an internal control (IC). The specificity and sensitivity of the PCR test system were performed on 15 strains of different species of mycobacteria and clinical samples from 32 leprosy patients and 15 healthy household contacts. Results: Established 100% specificity and sensitivity of detection of Mycobacterium leprae in skin biopsies by PCR compared with standard microscopy method (88.9%). In all other clinical samples were also determined higher sensitivity developed PCR test-system. Conclusions: The test system, using primers to the 16S rRNA of M. leprae has shown high sensitivity and specificity for fast identification and determination of viability of Mycobacterium leprae.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Experience of Using Pcr in the Diagnosis of Leprosy in Russia AU - Lyudmila Valentinovna Saroyants AU - Kristina Shotaevna Arnaudova AU - Andrey Valentinovich Naumov Y1 - 2026/10/23 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11 DO - 10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11 T2 - Science Discovery Medicine JF - Science Discovery Medicine JO - Science Discovery Medicine SP - 111 EP - 117 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 3142-8517 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdmed.20260103.11 AB - Background: Early diagnosis of leprosy is still a serious problem due to the low sensitivity of standard diagnostic methods and the inability to cultivate Mycobacterium leprae. Identification of M.leprae and determination of her viability on basis of PCR- technology can assistance to solve the issues of early diagnosis and the optimal duration and effectiveness of treatment of leprosy. Objectives: to investigate the performance of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in various clinical samples for leprosy diagnosis and monitoring effectiveness of treatment. Methods: Extraction of DNA/RNA of Mycobacterium leprae were performed from various clinical specimens (biopsies and SSS, scrapes from nasal pharynx, etc.) The primers and probes were designed for the 16S rRNA of M. leprae. The test system is adapted to DT-96 Real-time Thermal cycler (DNA-Technology, Moscow, Russia). The test system contains an internal control (IC). The specificity and sensitivity of the PCR test system were performed on 15 strains of different species of mycobacteria and clinical samples from 32 leprosy patients and 15 healthy household contacts. Results: Established 100% specificity and sensitivity of detection of Mycobacterium leprae in skin biopsies by PCR compared with standard microscopy method (88.9%). In all other clinical samples were also determined higher sensitivity developed PCR test-system. Conclusions: The test system, using primers to the 16S rRNA of M. leprae has shown high sensitivity and specificity for fast identification and determination of viability of Mycobacterium leprae. VL - 1 IS - 3 ER -
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Astrakhan State Medical University, Astrakhan, Russia
Department of Immunology and Dermatology, Astrakhan State Medical University, Astrakhan, Russia
Department of Preventive Medicine and Healthy Lifestyle, Astrakhan State Medical University, Astrakhan, Russia
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