Background: The detection of live Mycobacterium leprae in soil and animals other than humans suggests that the environment plays a role in the transmission of leprosy.
Objective: The 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.
Methods: Samples 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.
Findings: M. 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 Conclusions: The 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.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5719548 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760170117 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Cell wall polysaccharides from macauba pulp (Acrocomia aculeata L.): Fractionation and characterization of their chemical and rheological properties.
Int J Biol Macromol
January 2025
Technical University of Munich (TUM), TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Alte Akademie 8, 85354 Freising, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Str. 35, 85354 Freising, Germany. Electronic address:
Macauba fruit pulp (Acrocomia aculeata) is an emerging oil source. After de-oiling, the macauba pulp meal (MPM) offers a dietary fiber content of 40-50 %, which mainly comprises cell wall polysaccharides (CWP). The present work aimed to assess the potential of MPM as an innovative source of sustainable food polysaccharides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOccurrence, seasonal distribution and probabilistic source-specific health risk assessment of dissolved trace metals in southwestern rivers, Nigeria.
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, Division of Physical and Computational Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Bradford, 16701, PA, USA.
The presence of trace metals (TMs) in river systems at certain levels can cause toxicity and pose significant risks to human health. In this study, nine TMs (Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) in water samples collected from six major rivers from southwestern Nigeria during both dry and wet seasons. Across both seasons, the mean concentrations (mg/L) ranged from 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransformation processes of total suspended solids and dissolved organic matter in rivers: Influences of different land use sources and degradation processes.
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, Beijing 100012, China.
The riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool constitutes the largest and most dynamic organic carbon reservoir within inland aquatic systems. Human activities significantly alter the distribution of organic matter (OM) in rivers, thereby affecting the availability of DOM. However, the impact of total suspended solids (TSS) on DOM under anthropogenic influence remains insufficiently elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotochemical regulation of microcystin synthesis and release in cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa by triplet state dissolved organic matter.
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
College of Environment and Ecology, Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, China. Electronic address:
The increasing frequency of cyanobacterial blooms, particularly those induced by Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), poses severe economic, ecological and health challenges due to the production of microcystins (MCs). Environmental parameters such as light and nutrient availability influence MCs production, while the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) photochemical processes in regulating these remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRelative abundance of atropisomer pairs in metolachlor metabolites, MESA and MOXA, vary with slope and hydric soils in subwatersheds of the Choptank River watershed, Maryland.
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, United States of America.
Metolachlor is the most heavily used member of acetanilide herbicides, which are noted for forming highly soluble metabolites in root zone soils soon after field application. The two primary metabolites of metolachlor, metolachlor ethane sulfonic acid (MESA) and metolachlor oxanilic acid (MOXA), retain the same chiral chemistry as their source and are important tracers of nitrate loading from agricultural cropland. New analytical methods for separating the isomers of MESA and MOXA, enable studies assessing changes in the abundance of atropisomer pairs of the carbon chiral enantiomers in environmental samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!