Abstract: Objective: To compare the effects of alternative regimen and WHO-MDT on the bacteriological index (BI) between the multi-bacillary patients with positive HLA-B^*13:01 and negative HLA-B^*13:01. Methods: Patients with a positive HLA-B^*13:01 were treated with alternative treatment (without dapsone), and whose with negative HLA-B^*13:01 were treated with WHO-MDT regimen. The change of BI before and after treatment in the two groups was compared. Results: The number of patients, who was followed-up for one, two and three years was 19, 14 and 13 in the alternative regimen group. The mean BI decreased from 3.31+, 3.29+ and 3.54+ before treatment to 2.63+, 1.80+ and 1.45+ respectively. The number of patients, who was followed-up for one, two and three years was 35, 33 and 24 in the WHO-MDT group. The mean BI decreased from 3.31+, 3.19+ and 3.30+ to 2.22+, 1.68+ and 0.81+. BI change did not show a significant difference between the two groups (Ps＞0.05). Conclusion: The alternative regimen is as effective as WHO-MDT in terms of the change of BI among the multibacillary leprosy patients. 

Key words: leprosy, dapsone, bacteriological index, HLA-B^*13:01