Mycobacterium leprae in six-banded (Euphractus sexcinctus) and nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in Northeast Brazil

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

Cristiane Cunha Frota²  Luana Nepomuceno Costa Lima²  Adalgiza Da Silva Rocha¹  Philip Noel Suffys¹  Benedito Neilson Rolim¹  Laura Cunha Rodrigues¹  Maurício Lima Barreto¹  Carl Kendall¹  Ligia Regina Sansigolo Kerr¹ 

[1] ,Universidade Federal do Ceará Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de Patologia e Medicina LegalFortaleza CE ,Brasil

关键词: Euphractus sexcinctus;    Dasypus novemcinctus;    Mycobacterium leprae;    eco-epidemiology;    leprosy;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0074-02762012000900029

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Human beings are the main reservoir of the causative agent of leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae. In the Americas, nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) also act as a reservoir for the bacillus. In the state of Ceará (CE), which is located in Northeast Brazil and is an endemic area of leprosy, there are several species of armadillos, including D. novemcinctus and Euphractus sexcinctus (six-banded armadillo). Contact between humans and armadillos occur mainly through hunting, cleaning, preparing, cooking and eating. This study identified M. leprae DNA in the two main species of armadillos found in Northeast Brazil. A total of 29 wild armadillos (27 D. novemcinctus and 2 E. sexcinctus) were captured in different environments of CE countryside. Samples from the ear, nose, liver and spleen from each of these animals were tested by a nested M. leprae-specific repetitive element polymerase chain reaction assay. The samples that tested positive were confirmed by DNA sequencing. M. leprae was detected in 21% (6/29) of the animals, including five D. novemcinctus and one E. sexcinctus. This is the first Brazilian study to identify the presence of a biomarker of M. leprae in wild armadillos (D. novemcinctus and E. sexcinctus) in a leprosy hyperendemic area where there is continuous contact between humans and armadillos.

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