FIELD : medicine.SUBSTANCE : invention relates to the field of medicine and is intended to assess the effectiveness of the treatment of leprosy based on the identification of viable Mycobacterium leprae. DNA/RNA is isolated from skin biopsies and scarifiers. Reaction of RT-PCR is carried out in real time. With a decrease in the bacterioscopic index (BIN) and the percentage of positive samples obtained 6 and 9 months after the start of treatment, the effectiveness of anti-mycobacterial therapy is determined.EFFECT : invention provides improved method accuracy.1 cl, 4 tbl, 2 ex