Dataset Information

Social and environmental conditions related to Mycobacterium leprae infection in children and adolescents from three leprosy endemic regions of Colombia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Leprosy is is still considered a public health issue and in Colombia 7-10% of new cases are found in children, indicating both active transmission and social inequality. We hypothesized that circulating antibodies against Natural Octyl Disaccharide-Leprosy IDRI Diagnostic (NDO-LID) (a combination of Mycobacterium leprae antigens) could reveal the social and environmental aspects associated with higher frequencies of M. leprae infection among children and adolescents in Colombia.

Methods

An observational cross-sectional study was conducted involving sampling from 82 children and adolescents (younger than 18?years of age) who had household contact with index leprosy patients diagnosed in the last 5?years. Data were analyzed through bivariate analysis made by applying a Pearson x² test for qualitative variables, while quantitative variables, depending on their distribution, were analyzed using either a Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Multivariate analysis was performed using a multiple regression and binomial logistic approach.

Results

A bivariate analysis demonstrated that antibody titers against NDO-LID were significantly greater in children and adolescents with a low socioeconomic status that had: lived in vulnerable areas of the UAChR shared region; eaten armadillo meat; exposure of over 10?years to an index case and; not received BCG immunization. Moreover, a multivariate analysis showed that residing in the UAChR region has a strong association with a greater possibility of M. leprae infection.

Conclusions

M. leprae transmission persists among young Colombians, and this is associated with social and environmental conditions. An intensification of efforts to identify new leprosy cases in vulnerable and forgotten populations where M. leprae transmission continues therefore appears necessary.

SUBMITTER: Serrano-Coll H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6567403 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Social and environmental conditions related to Mycobacterium leprae infection in children and adolescents from three leprosy endemic regions of Colombia.

Serrano-Coll Héctor H Mora Hugo Rene HR Beltrán Juan Camilo JC Duthie Malcolm S MS Cardona-Castro Nora N

BMC infectious diseases 20190613 1

<h4>Background</h4>Leprosy is is still considered a public health issue and in Colombia 7-10% of new cases are found in children, indicating both active transmission and social inequality. We hypothesized that circulating antibodies against Natural Octyl Disaccharide-Leprosy IDRI Diagnostic (NDO-LID) (a combination of Mycobacterium leprae antigens) could reveal the social and environmental aspects associated with higher frequencies of M. leprae infection among children and adolescents in Colombi ...[more]

PMID: 31196008

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLeprosy elimination primarily targets transmission of Mycobacterium leprae which is not restricted to patients' households. As interruption of transmission is imminent in many countries, a test to detect infected asymptomatic individuals who can perpetuate transmission is required. Antibodies directed against M. leprae antigens are indicative of M. leprae infection but cannot discriminate between active and past infection. Seroprevalence in young children, however, reflects recent M. leprae infection and may thus be used to monitor transmission in an area. Therefore, this literature review aimed to evaluate what has been reported on serological tests measuring anti-M. leprae antibodies in children without leprosy below the age of 15 in leprosy-endemic areas.Methods and findingsA literature search was performed in the databases Pubmed, Infolep, Web of Science and The Virtual Health Library. From the 724 articles identified through the search criteria, 28 full-text articles fulfilled all inclusion criteria. Two additional papers were identified through snowballing, resulting in a total of 30 articles reporting data from ten countries. All serological tests measured antibodies against phenolic glycolipid-I or synthetic derivatives thereof, either quantitatively (ELISA or UCP-LFA) or qualitatively (ML-flow or NDO-LID rapid test). The median seroprevalence in children in endemic areas was 14.9% and was stable over time if disease incidence remained unchanged. Importantly, seroprevalence decreased with age, indicating that children are a suitable group for sensitive assessment of recent M. leprae infection. However, direct comparison between areas, solely based on the data reported in these studies, was impeded by the use of different tests and variable cut-off levels.ConclusionsQuantitative anti-PGL-I serology in young children holds promise as a screening test to assess M. leprae infection and may be applied as a proxy for transmission and thereby as a means to monitor the effect of (prophylactic) interventions on the route to leprosy elimination.

Dataset Information

Social and environmental conditions related to Mycobacterium leprae infection in children and adolescents from three leprosy endemic regions of Colombia.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Social and environmental conditions related to Mycobacterium leprae infection in children and adolescents from three leprosy endemic regions of Colombia.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets