Armadillo meat intake was not associated with leprosy in a case control study, Curitiba (Brazil)

Leprosy's progression and its maintained endemic status, despite the availability of effective treatments, are not fully understood and recent studies have highlighted the possibility of involved Mycobacterium leprae ambient reservoirs. Wild armadillos can carry leprosy and, because their meat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 2010-11, Vol.105 (7), p.857-862
Main Authors: Schmitt, Juliano Vilaverde, Dechandt, Ivone Tod, Dopke, Gisele, Ribas, Maria Luiza, Cerci, Felipe Bochnia, Zucco Viesi,Juliana Maria, Marchioro, Helena Zenedin, Zunino, Mariana Martins Bardou, Miot, Hélio Amante
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Armadillo
armadillos
Armadillos - microbiology
case and control study
Case-Control Studies
Disease Reservoirs - microbiology
Feeding Behavior
Female
Hansen's disease
Humans
leprosy
leprosy - Hansen's disease - HD - risk - case and control study - armadillos
Leprosy - transmission
Male
Meat - microbiology
Middle Aged
Mycobacterium leprae
PARASITOLOGY
risk
Socioeconomic Factors
TROPICAL MEDICINE
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Leprosy's progression and its maintained endemic status, despite the availability of effective treatments, are not fully understood and recent studies have highlighted the possibility of involved Mycobacterium leprae ambient reservoirs. Wild armadillos can carry leprosy and, because their meat is eaten by humans, development of the disease among armadillo meat consumers has been investigated. This study evaluated the frequency of armadillo meat intake among leprosy patients as well as age and gender matched controls with other skin diseases from a dermatological unit. Armadillo meat consumption among both groups was adjusted by demographic and socioeconomic covariates based on a conditional multiple logistic regression model. One hundred twenty-one cases and 242 controls were evaluated; they differed in socioeconomic variables such as family income, hometown population and access to treated water. The multivariate analysis did not show an association between the intake of armadillo meat and leprosy (odds ratio = 1.07; CI 95% 0.56-2.04), even when only cases with no known contacts were analyzed. We conclude that leprosy is not associated with the intake of armadillo meat in these patients.
ISSN:1678-8060
0074-0276
1678-8060
0074-0276
DOI:10.1590/S0074-02762010000700003