ArticleMemorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz2017
Natural environmental water sources in endemic regions of northeastern Brazil are potential reservoirs of viable Mycobacterium leprae.
Article in Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reservoirs and transmission routes of leprosy; A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Pooled it
- Prevalence of Mycobacterium leprae in armadillos in Brazil: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Pooled it
- Mycobacterium leprae infection, Hansen's disease, and helminth infections: A cross-sectional study in southeastern Brazil.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Integrated action for skin NTDs: Deconstructing transmission, addressing knowledge gaps, and championing one health strategies.Nature communications · 2026Review
- Environmental Exposures Relative to Locally Acquired Hansen Disease, United States.Emerging infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Lepra Bubalorum, a Potential Reservoir ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2021Review
- Real-time PCR-based quantitation of viable Mycobacterium leprae strain from clinical samples and environmental sources and its genotype in multi-case leprosy families of India.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2020Article
- Poor WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Conditions Are Associated with Leprosy in North Gondar, Ethiopia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Detection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA in soil: multiple needles in the haystack.Scientific reports · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe detection of live Mycobacterium leprae in soil and animals other than humans suggests that the environment plays a role in the transmission of leprosy.
objectiveThe 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.
methodsSamples 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.
findingsM. 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
conclusionsThe 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.
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