title: Human-armadillo interaction in Ceará, Brazil: Potential for transmission of Mycobacterium leprae.
abstract: Several factors suggest that armadillos present an important risk for human leprosy infection. This study uses semi-structured interviews to better illustrate how human interaction with armadillos may increase the risk of leprosy transmission. The participants were all residents of the state of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil, all acknowledged contact with armadillos either through hunting, through cooking, or through consumption of its meat. This study raises important issues about contact between human beings and armadillos. The interviews provide evidence of numerous situations in which leprosy transmission via the armadillo is possible. At a minimum, people who hunt armadillos need to be made aware of the risk of infection.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ligia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA. Electronic address: carl.kendall@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cesar Augusto Barros de
authors.initials: CAB
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia e Medicina Legal, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristiane Cunha
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Frota
authors.affiliation: Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Jove
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England, UK.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael Lima
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maurício Lima
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Barreto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001135:Armadillos / Q000382:microbiology*; D001938:Brazil; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000635:transmission*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: Armadillo; Infection; Leprosy; Transmission