01856nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653001500058653003100073653002400104653001100128653001500139100002000154700001500174700002100189700001200210700002300222700001400245700001500259700001500274700001200289700001600301245010300317520114400420022001401564       2024                            d  bElsevier BV10atratamento10aMycobacterium lepromatosis10aroadkill armadillos10aBrazil10aPrevalence1 aMonsalve-Lara J1 aDrummond M1 aRomero-Alvarez D1 aVelho P1 aJiménez-García D1 aMarques R1 aPeterson A1 aAngerami R1 aSilva D1 aDonalisio M00aPrevalence of Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis in roadkill armadillos in Brazil3 a<p>To evaluate the prevalence of&nbsp;<em>Mycobacterium leprae</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Mycobacterium lepromatosis</em>&nbsp;in road killed armadillos identified along Brazilian regions, samples of liver, spleen, muscle, ear, nose and tail were collected on highways from 78 animals. The armadillos were of four different species,&nbsp;<em>Cabassous tatouay, Dasypus novemcinctus, Dasypus septemcinctus</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Euphractus sexcinctus</em>. After DNA extraction from two tissues, specific primers were used for the detection of each pathogen using SYBR green qualitative Real-Time PCR, and amplicons were sequenced. The species with the highest prevalence was&nbsp;<em>Dasypus novemcinctus</em>, mainly in the Central-West, South, and Southeast regions of Brazil. We detected&nbsp;<em>M. leprae</em>&nbsp;DNA in 32 (41%) of the 78 individuals and&nbsp;<em>M. lepromatosis</em>&nbsp;DNA was not identified in any of the examined samples. The zoonotic component of leprosy may play a role in the transmission of the disease in endemic areas in which environmental conditions and contact with reservoirs must be investigated.</p>
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