Comparison of direct microscopic counting of AFB per standard volume with enumeration of <i>M. leprae</i> by RLEP TaqMan PCR from tissues originating from a variety of host animals.

<p>Symbols identify individual samples from sets of conventional, TNFR1 knock-out (KO), and congentially athymic nude mice, as well as from nine-banded armadillos. Pearson's coefficient (r²) is calculated for each tissue set. Enumeration estimates for all tissues combined showed high correlation (r² = 0.96) between the “gold standard' direct microscopic counting and estimates based on RLEP TaqMan PCR.