|
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 112, No. 12, 2017, pp. 805-811
|
Bioline Code: oc17116
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
|
|
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 112, No. 12, 2017, pp. 805-811
en |
Natural environmental water sources in endemic regions of northeastern Brazil are potential reservoirs of viable Mycobacterium leprae
Arraes, Maria Luisa Bezerra de Macedo; Holanda, Maísa Viana de; Lima, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa; Sabadia, José Antônio Beltrão; Duarte, Cynthia Romariz; Almeida, Rosa Livia Freitas; Kendall, Carl; Kerr, Ligia Regina Sansigolo & Frota, Cristiane Cunha
Abstract
BACKGROUND The detection of live Mycobacterium leprae in soil and animals other than humans suggests that the environment
plays a role in the transmission of leprosy.
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of viable M. leprae in natural water sources used by the
local population in five municipalities in the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil.
METHODS Samples were collected from 30 different sources. Viable bacilli were identified by reverse transcriptase polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) of the M. leprae gyrA gene and sequencing of the PCR products. Physicochemical properties of each water
source were also assessed.
FINDINGS M. leprae gyrA mRNA was found in 23 (76.7%) of the water sources. No association was found between depth of
the water and sample positivity, nor was there any association between the type of water used by the population and sample
positivity. An association between viable M. leprae and temperature and pH was found. Georeferencing showed a relation
between the residences of leprosy cases and water source containing the bacterium.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS The finding of viable M. leprae in natural water sources associated with human contact suggests that the
environment plays an important role in maintaining endemic leprosy in the study region.
Keywords
Mycobacterium leprae; water; mRNA; leprosy; disease transmission
|
|
© Copyright 2017 - Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Alternative site location: http://memorias.ioc.fiocruz.br
|
|