Development of a Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) scheme for Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue: Application to yaws in Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea

摘要

Background Yaws is a neglected tropical disease, caused by Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue. The disease causes chronic lesions, primarily in young children living in remote villages in tropical climates. As part of a global yaws eradication campaign initiated by the World Health Organization, we sought to develop and evaluate a molecular typing method to distinguish different strains of T. pallidum subsp. pertenue for disease control and epidemiological purposes.