What is the evidence that the putative Mycobacterium lepromatosis species causes diffuse lepromatous leprosy?
Gillis, Thomas P;
Scollard, David M;
Lockwood, Diana NJ;
(2011)
What is the evidence that the putative Mycobacterium lepromatosis species causes diffuse lepromatous leprosy?
Leprosy review, 82 (3).
pp. 205-209.
ISSN 0305-7518
https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/61249
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Han et al. have made a retrospective isolation of DNA from two patients with fatal Lucio's phenomenon. This DNA does have some molecular differences to M. leprae and may constitute a variant of M. leprae. However the experiments and data needed to confirm that this is a new leprosy-causing species have not yet been done. We have outlined the work that does need to be done. For the moment the assertion that 'M. lepromatosis' is a new leprosy-causing species is not proven.