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https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/20495
HUMAN-ARMADILLO INTERACTION IN CEARÁ, BRAZIL: POTENTIAL FOR TRANSMISSION OF MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE
Author
Affilliation
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Saúde Comunitária. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences. New Orleans, LA, USA
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Saúde Comunitária. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Patologia e Medicina Legal. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. New Orleans, LA, USA
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. London, England, UK
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Psicologia. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences. New Orleans, LA, USA
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Saúde Comunitária. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Patologia e Medicina Legal. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. New Orleans, LA, USA
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. London, England, UK
Universidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Psicologia. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil
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.
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