Patients with a negative assay result versus patients with a positive assay result with regard to how long they had been taking multidrug therapy prior to sampling.

(A) Patients in whose skin biopsy no M. leprae DNA was detected, had on average been treated longer prior to sampling compared to patients with a detectable amount of M. leprae DNA in their skin biopsy (B) Patients in whose nasal swab no M. leprae DNA was detected, tended to have been treated longer prior to sampling compared to patients with a detectable amount of M. leprae DNA in their nasal swab (C) The presence of systemic αPGL-I is not affected by duration of treatment prior to sampling. R-values for the αPGL-I test on fingerstick blood.*Negative/positive means R-value < infection threshold and R-value ≥ infection threshold respectively.