02343nas a2200361   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653001500067653001100082653001300093653002300106653001900129653001200148653002800160653002500188653003000213653004600243653003900289653002700328653001300355100002100368700001700389700001900406700001200425245012700437856005100564300001100615490000700626050003200633520130200665022001401967       2009                            d  c2009 Dec10aAnimals10aArmadillos10aBiopsy10aColombia10aDisease Reservoirs10aDNA, Bacterial10aleprosy10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMycobacterium leprae10apolymerase chain reaction10aPolymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length10aRepetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid10aSequence Analysis, DNA10aZoonoses1 aCardona-Castro N1 aBeltrán J C1 aOrtiz-Bernal A1 aVissa V00aDetection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA in nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) from the Andean region of Colombia.  uhttps://leprosyreview.org/article/80/4/42-4431  a424-310 v80  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>To use DNA detection methodologies to test for M. leprae in nine-banded armadillos inhabiting forested regions located around the cities and towns where leprosy patients have been identified.</p><p><b>DESIGN: </b>Ear lobe biopsies of 22 nine-banded armadillos were studied during a 2 year period. The biopsies were processed for DNA extraction and amplification by nested polymerase chain reaction (N-PCR) of a fragment of the high copy DNA locus of M. leprae known as R-LEP.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Nine of the 22 (40.9%) armadillos evaluated showed positive signals for M. leprae. Sequencing confirmed that PCR products were identical to the corresponding region of M. leprae DNA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>In Colombia, South America, the consumption of and contact with the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) are common, ignoring the fact that this animal can host and be a possible zoonotic reservoir of Mycobacterium leprae, the causal agent of leprosy. This is the first study demonstrating that M. leprae is present in nine-banded armadillos in a region of Colombia using specific DNA detection. The possibility of leprosy transmission due to contact and consumption of armadillo meat or use of blood for therapeutic purposes should be further investigated.</p>  a0305-7518