Abstract:
Accurate diagnosis and classification of leprosy patients into multibacillary (MB) and
paucibacillary (PB) groups is critical in deciding the treatment regime for leprosy. Many
leprosy endemic countries classify patients into MB and PB groups using clinical
classification systems alone. However, bacteriological classification based on calculation of
BI in slit skin smears (SSS) is superior in terms of specificity, SSS procedures are more
costly and are usually practiced under poor laboratory conditions leading to inaccurate
results.
