Deps Patrícia D, Antunes João Marcelo A P, Faria Carlos, Bührer-Sékula Samira, Camargo Zoilo P, Opromola Diltor V, Tomimori Jane
Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitória, Brazil.
Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2008;41 Suppl 2:73-6. doi: 10.1590/s0037-86822008000700015.
Armadillos have been involved in leprosy transmission and are considered a source of Mycobacterium leprae in numerous reports. Clinicians from certain areas of the USA consider contact with armadillos a risk factor for leprosy. However, there is a challenge associated with the role of wild armadillos perpetuating human leprosy in the American Continent. The presence of anti-PGL-I antibodies was investigated in wild nine-banded armadillos from leprosy-endemic areas in State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, by ELISA performed on serum samples from 47 armadillos. Positive ELISA was obtained from 5 (10.6%) armadillos. Infected armadillos may play some role in leprosy transmission, disseminating bacilli in the environment, perhaps making it more difficult to interrupt transmission and reduce the number of new leprosy cases. ELISA is an efficient tool for seroepidemiological investigations of Mycobacterium leprae in armadillos.
犰狳与麻风病传播有关，在众多报告中被视为麻风分枝杆菌的一个来源。美国某些地区的临床医生认为接触犰狳是麻风病的一个风险因素。然而，野生犰狳在美国大陆持续传播人类麻风病的作用存在一个挑战。通过对来自巴西圣埃斯皮里图州麻风病流行地区的47只野生九带犰狳的血清样本进行酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA），研究了抗酚糖脂-I（PGL-I）抗体的存在情况。5只（10.6%）犰狳的ELISA检测呈阳性。受感染的犰狳可能在麻风病传播中发挥一定作用，在环境中传播杆菌，这可能使中断传播和减少新麻风病病例数量变得更加困难。ELISA是犰狳中麻风分枝杆菌血清流行病学调查的一种有效工具。
