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A new study carried out in Brazil by an international group of scientists reveals that in western Pará, 62% of armadillos are infected with the bacteria responsible for leprosy – a contagious disease that can cause severe damage to nerves and skin 19659002] According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Brazil has the second highest number of leprosy cases in the world. In 2016, 25,218 new cases were diagnosed. Only India recorded a greater number of new cases registered that year: 135,485.
According to the authors of the research published Wednesday in the scientific journal Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, it was known that Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus)) can transmit to humans Mycobacterium leprae, a bacillus that causes leprosy, from cases reported in the southern United States.
Although there is no evidence that the armadillo is a natural reservoir for the transmission of leprosy in Brazil. the authors of the study, the presence of the bacillus in the animal worries, because part of the population of the Brazilian Amazon usually hunt armadillo, which is part of the local diet [19659002] According to one of the authors of the study, John Spencer, of Colorado State University (United States), the group of scientists investigated the occurrence of armadillos in the US. western Par and made genetic tests with the DNA extracted from 16 armadillos captured by local hunters
The 16 armadillos examined in the forests around two Belterra communities: So Jorge and Corpus Christi. At the same time, the team also studied a group of locals in the area to find out the extent and frequency of their interactions with armadillos. The scientists took blood samples from the locals and measured the antibody levels of the leprosy bacteria.
According to Spencer, of the 16 armadillos studied, ten were infected with M. leprae. Of the 146 people tested, seven were diagnosed with leprosy. But 92 subjects – or 63% of the population examined – had positive tests for the antibody against bacteria. According to the scientist, this suggests that most of the population has already been exposed to M. leprae
The study also showed that individuals who ate armadillo meat more frequently – at least once a month – had higher levels. high levels of antibodies, compared to those who ate less armadillo meat. The study found that armadillo hunters are the most endangered group, among them the risk of contracting leprosy seven times higher than normal.
According to Spencer, the discovery could lay the groundwork for a public debate about the possible
"As armadillos occur in very large numbers in several rural areas of Brazil, and as the detection rate of new case in humans has been considered hyperendemic in the Amazon region at the introduction of bacterial hansenase in armadillos by interactions with humans is not a recent event " Spencer said.
The disease, which can be treated with antibiotics, is likely to spread in humans, according to Spencer. The leprosy bacteria can live on people's noses and dropletlets when the subject sneezes, coughs or breathes.
About 95% of the world's population is immune to leprosy, according to the researcher. However, there is no consensus on how the disease infects sensitive people, as many of them claim to have never been in contact with infected people. According to Spencer, the infection can take several years to produce symptoms.
A study conducted by another group of scientists in 2011 showed that nine armadillos found in the southeastern United States were infected with the same strain of Hanssenase bacteria found in humans, suggesting that people have been infected after contact with the animal.
After the discovery of the link between armadillos and hansenase in the United States, scientists speculated that animals could contribute to the problem in Brazil. .
The results of the new study suggest that people who are in frequent contact with armadillos may be infected with the leprosy bacteria. However, to establish the connection scientifically, it is necessary to carry out new studies and to know if the bacterial lines found in armadillos are the same as those found in infected people in the region.
According to Spencer, it is impossible to say if the results of the new study hunters stop eating armadillos. "When we told the villagers that they might have tattooed leprosy, they said they did not care, because they liked the armadillo meat and that they would not change this behavior, "said the scientist
. According to another researcher, Marco Andrey Frade, of the Clinical Hospital of the School of Medicine of Ribeiro Preto, University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), despite the results of the study, the transmission of leprosy by the armadillo in the
"The study is a story that shows how much we live with the bacillus, present both in nature and in the human body." But our results do not allow us to not to forcefully say that the transmission The use of the armadillo's flesh, or the conversation with him, "said Frade to the newspaper
The State of São Paulo
According to Frade most of the transmission occurs even among humans. "Our major problem in the armadillo, but the lack of vigilance and the lack of diagnoses." Health professionals lose the ability to diagnose leprosy, especially in its initial phase. "
When diagnosed early, the disease is easily treatable with antibiotics, according to Frade.But the undiagnosed disease may take years to manifest and, when it reaches this stage, there is a good chance that it causes severe malformations and disability.
"We do not have a laboratory test that can be applied on a large scale. Unfortunately, in Brazil, the percentage of people with disabilities has increased from 15% to 20% of those infected. "
" Our great fight extends the training to the network's doctors, "said Frade, who is vice-president of the Brazilian Society of Hansenology.In FMRP-USP, he coordinates the National Reference Center in Sanitary Dermatology by putting The focus on Hansenase.
According to Frade, leprosy is more than a neglected disease: an "invisible disease." "A disease that does not cause pain, initially the person loses the Sensitivity to touch, heat, cold and pain, everything is quiet and the disease slowly turns off. that many measures are not taken, "he said.
Silence, leprosy is more present than most people realize. According to Frade, virtually everyone has been in contact with the bacillus at one time given, although 90% of the population does not develop the disease.
"The immune system is responsible for the end of the bacillus in the overwhelming majority of cases. of the population, the bacillus gets into the body, but everything will depend on the response of the immune system, which will keep bacteria controlled and imperceptible in some people – who, however, will continue to transmit. "
Last year, his group did an investigation on the Brasília highway, badisting people who crossed the place at random." Although in the city , leprosy has not been considered endemic since 2008, we diagnosed the disease in 10% of the people examined. "
In addition to the scientists FMRP-USP and Colorado State University, the study has also participated researchers from the Federal University of Par (UFPA), the Federal University of West Par (UFOPA), the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (Sua) and the of the University of Leiden (Netherlands)
(Fbio de Castro)
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