A research team from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology, Shandong Province, discovered a new susceptibility gene for leprosy based on a long-term study of more than 20,000 cases, said Zhang Furen, leader of the research team.

Chinese scientists have identified ten susceptibility genes for leprosy to date, a finding that will help identify high-risk individuals and aid in the prevention of the infectious disease.

Nine other susceptibility genes were found by Zhang's team and two other research teams in 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Zhang and his team in the course of their research discovered several cases in which people who had close contact with leprosy patients were not infected.

Therefore, they concluded that both physical contact and genetic predisposition play a role in infection.

More susceptibility genes are expected to be found in future, Zhang added.

Leprosy, an infectious disease, is primarily characterized by skin lesions and progressive physical disability, and can cause permanent nerve damage. It has afflicted mankind for over 4,000 years.

A total of 500,000 cases of leprosy have been reported and treated since the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949. More than 200,000 new cases are reported worldwide every year.