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Most armadillos in Brazilian Amazon carry leprosy
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More than 60% of armadillos in an area of the Brazilian Amazon tested positive for leprosy bacteria, and 63% of residents in the area surveyed were found to have been exposed to the bacteria, according to findings published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
In 2011, research showed that 20% of armadillos in Texas and Louisiana were infected with leprosy and were passing the disease to humans in the United States, John S. Spencer, PhD, associate professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and pathology at Colorado State University, told Infectious Disease News.
“Several studies by Brazilian researchers have tried to show this same relationship with armadillos in Brazil, but their evidence was weak or did not confirm this. Our study is the first to show that the same thing is happening in Brazil, with people likely being infected from hunting, preparing the meat and eating these animals there,” Spencer said.
Spencer and colleagues examined the extent of infection of Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent for leprosy, in nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in Brazil.
The researchers studied the armadillos in the western part of Pará state in the Brazilian Amazon. They also surveyed 146 people who lived in the town of Belterra, Brazil, to determine the extent of their contact with armadillos — including hunting and killing armadillos, handling armadillo meat for consumption and the consumption of armadillo meat. The participants also received dermatologic examinations by a leprosy clinician and had blood drawn for anti-phenolic glycolipid (PGL-I) titer assessment.
The researchers also gathered samples of liver and spleen from freshly killed armadillos in Belterra and tested tissue samples for M. leprae infection.
Among the residents surveyed, about 65% had some contact with armadillos, and seven residents were identified as having leprosy. The researchers also found that 10 of the 16 armadillos tested (62%) were infected by M. leprae. Residents who consumed armadillo meat more than once per month had a significantly higher anti- PGL-1 compared with those who ate the meat less frequently or not at all.
The percentage of armadillos being infected with M. leprae in Brazil was “three times higher than the infection rate of these animals in the southern U.S., indicating a possibly much longer existence in this population, perhaps several hundred years,” Spencer said.
“Understanding the dynamics of leprosy transmission in different geographic regions and knowing the behavioral risks of humans interacting with potentially infected animals will help clarify the relative risk of zoonotic transmission of leprosy in this region,” the researchers wrote. – by Bruce Thiel
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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